


White Crane

by eri_quin



Series: The Genderbent AU Project [4]
Category: Karate Kid (Movies)
Genre: Accidental Reverse Harem? XD, Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Female Daniel LaRusso, Gender Expectations, Gender Roles, Genderbending, Multi, Other, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rule 63, Societal expectations
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:15:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 22,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24987421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eri_quin/pseuds/eri_quin
Summary: Working in the restaurant across from the Cobra Kai dojo, Danielle LaRusso's mom decides to sign her up. Being the only female, Danielle has to learn to deal with overprotective Cobra Kai students and a crush on her sensei. Fem!Daniel/Kreese/(maybe Terry), Brotherly!Cobra Kai (slightly one-sided crushes though).She had a feeling Danielle wouldn't be pacified by the new turn of luck Lucille had somehow gotten.So she worked through the day, occasionally worrying how Danielle was thinking and how she was going to take Lucille getting a different job. At the end of her shift, successfully handling the customers and earning a grateful bout of thanks from the owner (who had been the man rushing out after that lady), she was leaving the restaurant when the building across from it caught her eye.The Cobra Kai Dojo.Karate, huh?
Relationships: (Unintended but strangely included one-sided???) Cobra Kai Parents/Daniel LaRusso, Daniel LaRusso & Ali Mills, Daniel LaRusso & Mr. Miyagi, Daniel LaRusso/Terry Silver, John Kreese/Daniel LaRusso, John Kreese/Daniel LaRusso/Terry Silver, one-sided Cobra Kai/Daniel LaRusso
Series: The Genderbent AU Project [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1818199
Comments: 5
Kudos: 39





	1. The Road That Could've

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alas! I've finally decided to transfer this fic from my FFN account to here :D:D:D  
> Now off to do all the work doing that DX
> 
> Playlist:  
> Happy by Boyce Avenue (Pharrell cover)

"It isn't so bad, right?"

Danielle looked at her mother, and if they hadn't both been LaRusso women, she would have taken her chances on the streets. The apartment building was old and cramped, and she was already missing her old home.

"I hate it," Danielle grumbled. "I want to go back. Why'd we have to move?"

Lucille sighed and ruffled her daughter's hair. "We moved here to California because I got this new job, baby. Don't worry, you'll get used to things soon. It won't be so bad then."

Danielle highly doubted that.

And Lucille knew that too, hence how she could feel herself agreeing with her daughter to herself as she exited Rocket Computers, disbelieving how they'd gone bankrupt and she was now jobless and having moved for no reason.

Just then, a woman came running out of the building across from her, screaming to high heaven.

"I quit, I _quit_!"

A man came flying out of the building, which Lucille figured out was a restaurant called "The Orient Express."

"You can't quit. You're FIRED!" The man screamed just as loud.

Lucille blinked and then a wide smile spread across her face. She glanced at her watch. A minute until noon and the lunch rush.

There was no way she wouldn't get hired.

Don't get her wrong. She felt bad for the woman and the fact the other probably was jobless now too…but it wasn't her problem and she didn't know her. What she did know was that the company she was _supposed_ to work for had filed for bankruptcy and she didn't actually have that shiny, new job she'd been promised and had moved all the way to California for, with her upset, teenaged daughter.

So she was going to get herself a freaking job to make this sucky day not suck as much, even if it meant working at a restaurant as some waitress.

Thankfully though, as she came in and brightly handed in her conveniently there résumé and asked for a job, she wasn't going to be a waitress. She was going to be a hostess, which was marginally better than what she thought she'd get.

She had a feeling Danielle wouldn't be pacified by the new turn of luck Lucille had somehow gotten.

So she worked through the day, occasionally worrying how Danielle was thinking and how she was going to take Lucille getting a different job. At the end of her shift, successfully handling the customers and earning a grateful bout of thanks from the owner (who had been the man rushing out after that lady), she was leaving the restaurant when the building across from it caught her eye.

The Cobra Kai Dojo.

Karate, huh? Danielle had been really getting into that lately…Always with a karate book in hand and trying to emulate the pages and teach herself. Maybe she'd be happier about the move and being here if Lucille could sign her up with the place.

Deciding to go take a look at the karate dojo, she finished crossing the street and found the door to it, hesitantly entering it. Inside, the lights were still on, but it was almost empty of anyone, minus a tall man who was cleaning up the room.

"Hello?" she spoke out and then the dirty blond-haired man turned to her in surprise.

"Hello, is there something I can help you with?" he asked her, smiling slightly.

Relaxing a bit, Lucille gave him a bigger smile in return. "I hope so, yes. I'm Lucille LaRusso. You see, I just moved into the area with my daughter and she hasn't been happy about the move. She does like karate though, so I was wondering if you taught here and if you were accepting new students? And what the prices were for lessons?"

Though caught off guard, the man (quite handsome in Lucille's opinion) recovered quickly.

"I'm Sensei John Kreese," he introduced himself. "I do accept new students. As for how much lessons are…" he hesitated and Lucille felt disappointment build up. "Lessons run from $125 every two weeks to $135 monthly."

Lucille knew she looked disappointed, but she hadn't expected Sensei Kreese to speak up quickly though.

"But we have financial discounts available at around $95 a month. 8-87 if she stuck around after class to help clean up and…uh…chores. I mean, help out with whatever needs to be done around here," he ended the offer lamely, sounding unsure.

Lucille felt her lips twitch up a little. She had a feeling that that wasn't an actual official pricing, but it was nice of him to have made up the offer. She could actually go for that price though…

"That would be great!" she accepted, feeling relieved. "Danielle, my daughter, she could definitely do that, help around with whatever you need. When should she come in?"

"She could start tomorrow, if she'd like," Sensei Kreese told her and Lucille thought that maybe Danielle might finally be a little more happier about this move. "The only other thing I'd add on is that the class is currently all males, so if she's alright with that, then everything should be fine."

Lucille wanted to wince. She wasn't sure how that was going to go down with Danielle, but hopefully not too bad.

"I think she'll be fine," Lucille answered him, trying not to sound so uncertain. "I work across the dojo at The Orient Express restaurant, so I can send her here after school."

"Class usually starts on weekdays around 4-5, so she'll probably be early then. If she does come in early, I can have her help set up the place with me and catch her up to where everyone else is in the class."

"Perfect then. She'll see you tomorrow, Sensei Kreese!"

They exchanged last minute information, she quickly filled out a form, and then she was off to go home to her currently miserable daughter and hopefully cheer her up with the news.

* * *

When Lucille LaRusso finally left, John thought he might have been a little off balanced at the moment from the encounter.

New students was pretty rare, so that in itself had been an unexpected overture from her. But then to say it was her _daughter_ who wanted to attend…

Well, it was going to be a different change of pace at least.

He had only taught boys, and before that the men in his old army unit. It wasn't like his dojo specifically excluded girls…it just had never had any, and girls weren't usually interested. And after a while, it was just assumed it was an all-male dojo.

And then there was the whole pricing thing. He did offer discounts through financial aid, but the whole $87 deal wasn't actually a real thing. He'd kind of came up with that on the spot, as well as the helping out around the dojo. He'd just felt…bad about the money thing, especially when he'd seen her face.

Usually, he was the hard-nosed, strict and unsympathetic kind of character, but he'd always been kind of softer for the women, and between Mrs. LaRusso and the daughter he had yet to meet, it hadn't been that hard to make him try to bend rules around.

His phone rang and he saw the Caller ID. Rolling his eyes, he answered it with a sarcastic "Can I help you?"

"Don't be mean, John!" his old friend Terry Silver mouthed out to him. "You know you love me."

"Whatever," John grumbled. "What do you want?"

"Hmph, Mr. Grump. Anyway, just checking we still on for beers tonight. I need a normal outing, where I don't have to deal with lawyers or old guys annoying me about stocks and decisions I make about my own company."

John headed towards a door in the back of the dojo next to his office and went in, spotting his bed and dumping his jacket on it. "If you wear your suits, I'm sitting as far away from you as possible. And if you wear an ascot with it, I don't know you."

Terry laughed at the other end of the phone. "Jeans and a shirt then."

John actually released a relieved sigh. Terry really did have a strange sense of fashion sometimes, as well as wearing suits to places he really shouldn't. Like the bar they frequented at together somedays.

That's why, as he entered Jerry's, he was doubly relieved to find that Terry really was wearing a regular shirt and jeans combo. He slipped into the seat next to Terry and ordered a bottle of beer, before greeting his friend with a shit-eating grin.

"Glad you're not looking like a priss today," John told him.

"I don't look like a priss," Terry huffed. "I look sharp. Professional. Women love me in my suits."

John scoffed, but didn't say anything. He took a sip of his beer.

"So how's the dojo going?" Terry asked, sipping at his glass of whiskey like it was a glass of wine. John nearly snorted.

"It's fine," he focused on the question. "Kids are learning to be tough shits and not back down. Make sure not to underestimate their enemy."

Terry nodded. "Sounds good to me."

John hesitated then. "I, uh, got a new student today. Well, a mother came in asking about classes."

Terry sat up in excitement. "Oh yeah? That's good, ain't it?"

"Yeah…But, uh, it's going to be different. Strange maybe."

His friend furrowed his eyebrows. "Different? Strange? What the hell you mean, John?"

"I've got a female student for the first time," John said wryly. "I haven't met her yet, but she's starting tomorrow."

Terry stared at him. "…You're shitting me, right?"

John rubbed the back of his neck. "Nah. I got her coming in tomorrow, probably early enough that she'll help me set up the dojo before the boys come in."

Terry whistled. "That is something new. I don't know. Can you do it?"

"What do you mean 'can I do it?'" John asked defensively.

The other man held up his hands. "You teach pretty rough, John. It's pretty gruff on the boys, because you've styled yourself and your teaching more military, so how're you going to handle a girl into the mix? _Can_ you teach a girl?"

"Yeah, I can," John said hotly, and damn it he would. Maybe he might have to retool his teachings a bit, but he was sure he could teach her.

Terry held up his hands higher. "Okay, okay! I got you. It'll be really weird though, right? I mean, I know we've got women in the military. There are girls taking martial arts lessons in other places or boxing too, but it's rare around these parts and you and the dojo don't have any experience in that at all."

"I can do it," John said again, reassuring more himself.

The hell. It seemed like serving in Afghanistan was much easier.

Terry patted his back. "Don't worry about it. I bet you'll do fine, John. Anyway, tomorrow you're being thrown into the water, so it's not like you have any choice but to sink or swim then," he ended cheerily.

John glared at him. Some friend.

Still, he did feel a bit of doubt creeping in again, and he actually wasn't so sure about teaching Danielle LaRusso his brand of karate.

And he hadn't even begun worrying about how the boys would take to having a girl in their midst, and learning alongside them.

He groaned.

"I'm doomed," he muttered.

Terry snickered at him.

Started 1/25/16 – Completed 2/2/16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See what I did there? ;D Yeah, I think I'll up the year for this fic, so it'll be modern setting (aka it's around 2015). I hope you guys liked this idea and first chapter! Please remember to leave a review!


	2. She's Ain't Havin' It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Playlist:  
> Roads Untraveled by The Cloak and Dagger Crew (Linkin Park cover)

Danielle moped around the apartment. She had no friends and she had nowhere to go to –she didn't know _where_ to go. It was a new city and she was alone, while her mom went off to work. She tried playing her guitar for a bit, but she only managed an hour of that before her mind wandered back to the fact she had just left everything behind. Not that she had anything back in Jersey. She had been a loner there too, but at least there had been familiar and she knew how to get around and what to do.

Los Angeles was something else though. It was large and bustling with people and noises everywhere. She had never been there before and she didn't know where to go, much less the fact that she was still friendless.

It was warmer too. Even if it was nearing the end of summer, she could tell that California was much warmer than New Jersey. She was sure that –

A loud knock on her door interrupted her and she frowned, heading over to the door to peer through the small eyehole. She saw an unfamiliar teenage boy outside.

"Who is it?" she asked.

"Hi! I'm Freddy. You don't know me yet, but I'm one of your neighbors. I heard the new neighbors were moving in today and that there was going to be a teenager my age. There aren't many kids around here, so I thought I'd come say hiya!"

Danielle debated with herself, but she did want to make friends. The guy was overly energetic though, but eh. Beggars can't be choosers.

She opened the door and shyly waved. "Hi, I'm Danielle. I just moved in. Please to meet you."

He blinked before giving a shy smile back. "U-uh, hey there! So I was wondering if you wanted to hang out or something? There's a beach that's nearby that we can go to too, where a few of my other friends will be around."

"Beach?" Danielle perked up. There were beaches in New Jersey, but there she had never really gone to them, especially since she would have been alone.

"Yeah!" Freddy became more energized again. "It might be cold since it's getting late and it's almost not summer, but it should still be nice to hang out there!"

"Okay, sounds like fun," Danielle beamed at him. "Let me just get dress for if it's cold out there. Want to come in?"

"Uh, s-sure!"

She opened the door and let him in, and she hurried to change. Shorts would be alright, maybe? But if it's cold…then some jeans. She could just put on a hoodie and a beanie to keep warm, which she did next, making sure her beanie covered her ears and kept them warm before she tucked in her hair.

She met back up with Freddy and they left her apartment behind, while they talked about themselves on the way to the beach. She noted he had a soccer ball with him, which excited her since it was one of the few things she was good at.

"I love soccer," she told him. "It was one of the few things in P.E. I participated in."

"Really?" Freddy was grinning. "How good are you?"

"Not bad," she thought about it. "I think I'm pretty decent at it."

"Awesome! Maybe you could show me and the guys back on the beach, eh?"

She laughingly agreed just as they finally reached the beach, to where some of his friends were already at. She dimly noted that there was a group of girls hanging out too, though they were all just sitting on some blankets and just listening to music. She went back to paying attention to Freddie as he led her to his friends and introduced her and she greeted them hello back. They decided on starting a pickup game, and she played on Freddie's team.

"Ah, geez, Danielle! Decent? You're great at this!"

Danielle gave a sheepish grin, though she felt giddy at the compliment. She kept playing on, not noticing one of the other girls on the beach had come closer.

"Hi," the blonde-haired girl surprised Danielle. "I'm Ali. I haven't seen you around before…?"

"Ah, I'm Danielle," her eyes widened. "Um, I just moved here actually."

Ali smiled widely. "That's great! We should hang out sometime and maybe I'll even see you at West Valley. You'll be going there, right?"

"That would be nice," Danielle was quickly warming up to the friendly female. "And yeah, I am!"

"So what are you doing?" Ali pointed at the ball.

"I'm playing soccer with the guys," Danielle held up the ball, before beginning to toss it up and then catch it. She even showed off a bit, using her feet and knees to do some tricks.

"Wow, you're really good," she said impressed, but before she could continue on, there were loud roars of engines and a bunch of boys had driven by the beach before parking their…m-motorbikes? What in the world were those?

Danielle frowned as she watched those boys marched down the hill to the beach, heading towards them. She yelped as the leader, obviously the blond boy in front of them, pushed her aside and confronted Ali.

"So, you're hanging around here, huh?"

"Yeah, so?" Ali said dismissively. "Why do you care, Johnny? We've been broken up for two weeks."

'Johnny' seemed to have puffed up at that, looking agitated. "Which was a mistake on your part!"

Ali snorted. "Your ego is larger than you can handle. I don't want to talk to you anymore. Go away."

Furious, Johnny stormed over to the radio that was playing and shut it off, making Ali get pissed off in turn. Danielle blinked, wondering if she and everyone else had suddenly been dropped in the middle of a lovers spat or something.

"Give me that!" Ali screamed at him.

"No! Not until you agree to talk to me!" Johnny shouted back, holding it threateningly over his head. "Or I'll drop it!"

"You jerk! I said _give it back_!"

Deciding to interfere, Danielle came closer. "Hey, come on, guys. Let's just cool our heads, alright. Listen, man, put down her radio," Danielle guessed it was Ali's. She was getting mad over it after all.

"Don't interfere!" Johnny snarled at her.

Danielle scowled outright now and stood between them, glaring at him. "Get off your high horse, Mister! You're the one who gatecrashed and interrupted, so put down the radio and butt off!"

Johnny dropped the radio and stomped over to Danielle, who stood up straight and didn't back down. When Johnny tried to get around her to get to Ali, she pushed him roughly and he retaliated by grabbing her arm and twisting it behind her, pushing her down into the sandy ground painfully and pulling a cry out of her. However, as he pushed her down more and his hand reached around her a little more to get a better grip on her while his other hand had her arm, he grabbed something he shouldn't have, at the same time as her beanie came off.

But Danielle was way more focused on his hand on her breast, not even caring or noticing how it had become quiet and still.

"You…you asshole!" she screamed and gained a burst of energy to break out of his suddenly slacked hold, head-butting him backwards and pretty sure she hit him straight in the face. "You freaking pervert!"

"W-what?! N-no! That wasn't…I hadn't!"

But she wasn't paying attention to what he was saying, instead kicking him in the stomach and then sucker punching him in the shoulder. Then she whirled around and began storming out of there, intent on heading home before she could be further embarrassed and pissed off.

She may not know karate (yet, dammit!), but she was pretty damn good at boxing and she also did cardio kickboxing with her mom, thank you very much!

Danielle didn't stop until she was all the way back home and decided to take a shower when she got in. Unfortunately, the water heater wasn't working and she had to endure a cold shower, further giving her a bad mood. After cleaning up and getting dressed, she decided to search out the apartment complex's maintenance man, and found the small place he seemed to work in.

"Hello?" She tried to keep her tone even.

"Yes?" An old Japanese man appeared and looked at her inquisitively.

She gave him a feeble smile. "Um, my apartment's water heater isn't working, so if you could take a look at it when you can?"

"Of course, of course," he gave a friendly smile. "Mr. Miyagi will take a look at it tomorrow."

She gave a more unsure smile, but inwardly shrugged it off. She was also wondering if the man was referring to himself in the third person, but decided not to ask.

"Okay then. I'll see you tomorrow?"

She gave a small wave goodbye and then headed back to the apartment to wait for her mom. Deciding to change into clothes she can sleep in, she slipped off her pants and shirt, and found her San Diego's Chargers jersey and put that on, leaving her legs bare. She'd always been hot-blooded, and her trip out had proven that California's cold temperatures weren't really that cold to her, so she definitely didn't need to pile on the clothes.

Time passed and she played with her guitar a little more, idly even making some beginning pieces to songs, before her mom finally came and she straightened up.

"Hey," her mom said cheerily. "You wouldn't believe the _day_ I had! Whoo boy."

Danielle gave her an unimpressed stare. "Try my day."

Lucille rolled her eyes. "Oh don't be such a drama queen, Danielle. Tell me all about it then."

And so Danielle did, even including the sort-of fight at the beach.

"That poor boy," Lucille commented, causing Danielle to sputter.

"What? I was the one who was assaulted!"

"Dear, I'm pretty sure that you not only broke his nose, gave a large bruise to his shoulder and his stomach –you are not a light girl, Danielle, or forgiving! –and I'm pretty sure you humiliated him in front of everyone. And accused him of being a pervert."

Danielle grumbled. "Well, he is. And he deserved all that."

Lucille just shook her head. "Well, I'm just glad that nice maintenance man will be coming tomorrow to fix our water heater. I didn't even know it was messed up!"

Danielle made an agreeing noise, flipping through the karate book she'd brought over from New Jersey. Lucille noticed.

"So, my job didn't pan out," Lucille hesitantly started, which made Danielle perk up in interest.

"Does that mean we can go back to Jersey?"

Lucille sighed. "No. Honey, we drove all that freaking way from there to here, resolved and resigned everything back there, and already gotten started on living here. It's not plausible."

Danielle echoed her sigh.

"However, I was able to find a job at the Chinese restaurant across from where I was supposed to work," Lucille tacked on.

Danielle scrunched up her nose. "So you're a waitress instead of a computer programmer. That's…an upgrade," she said sarcastically.

Lucille swatted at her daughter's head. "Shush you! And no, I'm not a waitress. I'm a hostess."

Danielle almost asked if there was a difference, when she shut her mouth at her mom's warning look.

"But I found something that might cheer you up –"

"Doubtful," Danielle said immediately, flipping a page.

"I found a karate center that's willing to take you in."

Danielle pushed away her book and sat up, eyes widening as she looked at her mom in excitement. But then she became skeptical.

"Do we have money for it? Classes are expensive."

Lucille waved her off. "Don't worry about it. The owner and teacher said we can have a bargain price if you agree to come in early and help set up for class and help clean up afterwards. Well, technically he said you could just help clean up after class, but since you'll probably get there early, he mentioned you could help set up and that he'd probably also help you catch up to where everyone else is in class."

"Done," Danielle agreed. What was more chores? She was already stuck cleaning up and taking care of where they lived now, and back when they lived in Jersey, because her mom wasn't around a lot and had to work to make sure everything got paid and they had food on the table. So what if she had to help around somewhere else too? Big deal.

Her mom was hesitating though. "Yeah, he also mentioned that the class was only full of boys at the moment. Are you okay with that?"

Oh. That…that might be a problem?

"No?" she answered, but it sounded too questioning to be taken seriously.

Danielle sighed. Well, it shouldn't be that bad. Right?

Started 1/23/17 – Completed 1/23/17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Johnny's going to be ragged on by the others, especially Ali, for a loooong time. Doubtful Danielle's going to let this go easily either~ Didn't plan on having Mr. Miyagi come so soon, but eh. Here he is. Also, I really wanted to finish "The Things I Can Do Without" first before working on this Karate Kid fic, but I got in the mood and I thought maybe it might not be so bad to try to update every once and a while. I might make the pairing include Terry because poor guy's got nothing for him in fandom and I already have a few just Danielle/Kreese fics. Next chapter should have Danielle meeting Kreese and maybe another meeting between her and the Cobra Kai. In any case, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and please remember to review!


	3. When There's a God (And He Just Wants to Laugh at You)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Light It Up by Major Lazer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Playlist:

"You look bored," her mother noted, watching her daughter sleepily make breakfast.

"I'm sleepy, not bored," Danielle snarked.

"Yeah, but I'm betting you'll be bored."

Danielle looked over her shoulder at her mom, frowning at her and wondering what she was getting at.

"You want to come with me, so you can check out the dojo? It's across from my work, so since I'm heading to work in a little while, you can come with and go check it out," Lucille suggested. "Your class will begin later on, but getting there early could be good."

Danielle hesitated, like she had the night before when her mom first told her about the karate dojo. Don't get her wrong, she wanted to take lessons and learn karate for real. Self-teaching and going by books wasn't going to cut it and could only get so far. It was a great opportunity and the bargain price wasn't going to be something she could get just anywhere.

But it was full of boys and she wasn't sure how okay she was going to be with that.

She had no problems hanging with the boys and all, but taking a class (and a karate class at that!) and being the only girl was just something different.

"Yeah, sure. Sounds good," she said anyway, even though she was anything but sure.

That's why she found herself helping her mom getting the car running and then heading to her work with her. Once they'd parked near the restaurant, her mom pointed out the dojo before leaving her to it and going into the restaurant to start the day and get to work.

Danielle had made it to the entrance of the dojo, stared blankly at the door, before turning around and heading to the restaurant and entering. Since the place was just opening, there were no customers. Her mother quickly saw her and came over.

"Danielle, what's wrong?"

She stared at her mother. "Can I have some water?" she asked feebly.

Soon enough, Danielle found herself repeating the same pattern –going up to the entrance and then retreating cowardly back to the restaurant.

Her mother didn't say a word, except give her knowing and pitiable looks.

* * *

So John had woken up, already stressed out from the day and trying to figure out how he was going to teach that day's class.

A _girl_. He was going to teach a freaking girl for the first time.

"Holy shit," John muttered, running a hand through his hair.

He took a deep breath and decided to focus on getting ready for the day. He took a shower, ate breakfast, brushed his teeth, and then was back to wondering about what he was going to do soon enough.

"Strike first, strike hard, no mercy," he muttered. "How the fuck am I going to tell that to a girl?!"

His cell phone rang and he answered it in annoyance, barely glancing at the Caller ID and recognizing Terry's number.

"What is it, Terry?" he answered, voice disgruntled.

"Good morning! Today's the big day, eh?"

"Fuck you."

He abruptly hung up and ignored his phone, especially as it rang again. It was probably Terry again, and a quick glance showed that it was the jerk's number. John sighed to himself before he saw someone by his entrance and he looked closer, seeing it was a girl. Speak of a girl and one appears! Why was everything messing with him already?

He continued to watch her, not getting a clear picture of her from where he was standing, but watching as she seemed to just stand there before suddenly leaving. He raised an eyebrow but shook his head, wondering what that was all about. However, ten minutes later, she appeared again and was staring at the dojo's door. He blinked and was just about to head to the door and open it to ask if she needed something, when she turned and left again.

Now thoroughly confused, he thought that maybe he should just put it out of his mind since it wasn't like he could really figure out what was up since she wasn't around anymore. He was starting to clean up a bit, when five minutes passed and the girl was there. This time she had managed to reach for the door, but yanked her hand back as if it was burned, and even quicker turned around and ran away this time.

John found himself confused, before it clicked in his head.

That girl had to be Danielle LaRusso.

And apparently she was having a lot of hesitation entering his dojo and participating, and is probably going back and forth between his door to the restaurant across the street that her mother was supposed to work in.

"Hell, I guess I'm not the only one that's hesitant about this whole situation," he muttered.

He grabbed his keys and exited his dojo, locking it up and heading across the street, where he entered the Chinese restaurant. He saw Lucille LaRusso first, who looked momentarily surprised to see him before looked understanding.

"Back there, sitting alone at one of the tables," she told him in exasperation. "Please don't mind her."

"It's alright, Ms. LaRusso," he told her. "I have this."

He went in the direction she'd pointed out and managed to see a booth that had only a single girl sitting at it, playing morosely with a packet of sugar and sipping at a glass of water. She was pretty up close, with her olive skin and her short brown hair.

Just as she flicked the packet a little too hard and it soared in the air, he quickly snatched it out of the air and held it up, causing her to startle and stare at him. He was startled too, as he got a better look at her face, taken aback by her doe brown eyes and cute button nose that was matched up to soft lips.

He mentally shook himself out of it and gave her a friendly smile.

"Hey there, I'm Sensei John Kreese from across the street. Your mom told me about you a little yesterday," he said lightly.

She shifted before biting her lower lip uncertainly. "I'm Danielle," she said quietly, her accent way different than her mother's Jersey one. "I-I'm supposed to be in your class."

He slid into the seat opposite her in the booth and continued to smile at her, trying to put her at ease.

"You know, I've never taught a girl before," he told her.

"Really?" she asked in surprise.

He shook his head. "Nah. I was kind of freaked out myself about it, and wondering what to do," he admitted, thinking it'd help comfort her. Otherwise, he'd never admit something like that, or any other weakness to anyone.

She perked up a little and she started to smile a little herself.

"Oh, I thought I'd be the only one nervous," she confessed to him. "I kind of psyched myself out the entire time last night, and then Mom brought me to let me check out your dojo and I couldn't even bring myself to open the door."

He laughed. "Yeah, I know. I saw you a few times come up to it, and this last time is when I figured it out and figured out who you were, so I decided to come over here and maybe talk you over."

She gave him a sheepish look, her smile briefly being bashful. "I'm pretty sure you missed the dozen or so times before then that I tried to enter your dojo."

He barked out a laugh. "Did I then? Well, I can tell you this. It'll be as new to me as it is to you, but probably won't be as bad as either one of us think it'll be. And don't mind the boys –they're all good kids and will help you out. Why don't you come over? I still have to get you a correctly sized gi, considering all the sizes I have are fit for boys, so I have to see if the smallest size I found will at least fit you a little."

"Oh! Okay. I can help out with anything right now too, if you need," she said, turning a bit shy.

He gave her a reassuring look as he got out of the booth. "Sure, that would be helpful."

He began to lead the way, with her following him, and the two of them passed by her mother, who gave them a bright look.

"Good luck! Have fun, Danielle, and thank you a lot, Mr. Kreese!"

* * *

John Kreese was the karate instructor she was learning from. He was actually rather handsome and she also quickly learned that he had a dry humor. But he seemed nice and she didn't feel as weirded out by the thought of being the only girl in an all-boys karate class as she had been.

They checked out the uniform he'd found and even before putting it on, they both knew it was just a little bit too big. She hmmed as she eyed it before turning to him.

"Do you have medical tape?" she asked, catching him off guard.

"Yeah, I do. Hold on a bit," he said and left her for a moment, coming back soon enough.

"Ah, thanks! Where can I change?"

He stared at her before a look of realization crossed his face and he grimaced a bit. He gestured for her to follow him and he showed her the changing room.

"Um, this is where the boys change. If you're early, you can change in here. If you come in around the same time, I guess you could change in my room until we find a more appropriate solution," he told her, looking apologetic.

She nodded, hiding her amusement, and believing more than ever that what he said about never teaching a girl being true as he left her in consternation. She quickly changed and folded up the sleeves of her arm and legs, and then used the medical tape around those areas. She also used the medical tape around her fingers, before finishing up and heading back out.

John –Sensei Kreese? What did she call him? Ehhh, she was usually informal anyway…–looked surprised, but quickly looked approving.

"Good idea. That should fix up your uniform until I can order you something more fitting," he said. "Why'd you tape your fingers?"

"Oh! Um, when I used to do boxing, I learned about hand wraps to protect joints and stuff, so when I got interested in karate, I was wondering if there was any need for it, and I saw that a lot of martial artists tend to tape up the fingers in certain ways. I learned about it then and practiced."

Sensei blinked before taking one of her hands and examining it. "Interesting," he muttered. "You said you did boxing?"

She nodded cheerily. "I used to be interested and practiced gymnastics, then boxing at the YMCA. But then I got into karate and tried to learn it there and through books, but I doubt it's anything like learning in here, Mr. Kreese."

He let go of her and gave her a wide smile. "The students call me Sensei or Sensei Kreese. This is interesting," he said again as he pointed at her fingers. "I'll have to look it up. Usually, I know about taping fingers and hands for medical purposes and to help prevent further injury. You said you used to practice boxing? Let's see how your punches are."

He got a couple of punching mitts that he never use anymore, in regards to his regular students, and then held it up to her.

"Get into any stance you're familiar with and good at, whether it's a karate stance or boxing," he said, trying to get a gauge.

She moved into a semi-familiar stance that he scrunched his eyebrows at, but prepared himself for when she launched a punch. His eyebrows flew up as he nearly was pushed back. She had a _punch_ , this girl…

"You definitely have strength behind your punches, probably from your boxing experience," he said, impressed. "That stance though –looks familiar but not quite? Where'd you learn it?" It wasn't quite boxing and wasn't quite karate after all.

She beamed at him. "I learned it from my old cardio kickboxing class I went to with my mom back in Jersey."

Cardio…kickboxing?

He almost laughed, but held it in. He gave a wry grin in return.

"I'm guessing your kicks are going to be just as good?"

* * *

They practiced a bit, with John trying to figure out what she needed to learn. Sure she needed the basics, but she was damn good at kicking and punching, that was for sure. He could get her caught up on stances at least, and with her work ethic and ability to learn fast, she could get that in a week. Maybe next week, he could see about pitting her up against one of the others privately, someone a bit more softer than most of his students…like Bobby. Yeah, Bobby would be a good partner for her, would take in her newness and be patient with her.

They were taking a break at her mom's restaurant, eating a late lunch and drinking a lot of water, and he thought it'd probably be good to get to know her, considering he knew the others since they've practically been with him forever.

The first thing he wanted to ask about though was her accent. It really was different from her mom's, since her mom had an obvious Jersey accent and he'd been expecting Danielle would have one too.

"Your mom's got a Jersey accent, so I was surprised to hear you didn't," he said and saw her look confused before she suddenly nodded.

"Ah, yeah. My household back in Jersey was split. There was most of it that had Italian accents and the others that had gained Jersey accents. My mom spent more time outside of the house and around people, so her accent gravitated towards more of the Jersey side. I was the opposite."

"I see. What made you guys move here?" he asked next and was amused to see a pouty look cross her face.

"Mom got a new job here," she grumbled. "She was supposed to be a computer programmer, but the people who promised her a job ended up having to declare bankrupt, so we basically came here for no reason. She managed to get this hostess job when she left the building for the computer job, and apparently some crazy lady ran out of here screaming about quitting and the owner screaming that she was fired. Since it was lunch rush coming up and she was already here, you can guess that she obviously got the job."

John chuckled. "It's alright –Los Angeles isn't too bad. There are plenty of places for you to go around and enjoy, so you'll find yourself enjoying yourself soon enough."

Her lips twitched. "Well, I guess it hasn't been too bad so far. I got into this really awesome karate class after all," she said slyly, which made John smirk and wink at her. "Plus, I can get back at that pervert I met last night, if I ever see him again!"

John straightened up, frowning. "Pervert?"

"Yeah," Danielle was starting to get heated. "I was at a beach get-together my new neighbor invited me to, when this bunch of jerks came by on their fancy motorbikes and came to pick a fight. The leader, some asshole blond –er, 'scuse the language, Sensei, but he totally deserves it –came stomping down and was picking on this girl I just met named Ali and who I was just starting to become friends with. Well, this punkass had the nerve to grab my arm and twist it behind my back and push me to the ground, and get this, Sensei! He totally groped my breast! He's totally a pervert, right?!"

John was pretty sure his face had become so pale that he looked dead. Seriously. He had more than a good clue who those "bunch of jerks" were, and more importantly who that "asshole blond" was. What was Johnny and those kids getting up to? And he knew it was Johnny, especially considering Ali being talked about. Johnny had been griping about how he'd been dumped by the girl for a few weeks now, and while he and the others had commiserated with him (Guy Code and all), John was sure that kid probably earned being dumped. Not that that had stopped Johnny from being persistent.

But now Johnny had gone and used violence against a girl a-a-and groped her?!

Oh God, those two were going to have class together in _fifteen minutes_!

Started 1/28/17 – Completed 1/29/17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I would like to at least finish the first arc, which is sort of really short. But yeah, at least John and Danielle finally meet! Next chapter should be Danielle's "reunion" with the Cobra Kai guys~ I hope everyone liked this chapter, so please remember to leave a review!


	4. Joke's On You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Playlist:  
> Misfits by Midaz & Ellie

John admitted it. To only himself of course, but he admitted it.

He'd run away like a coward.

He had ended up laughing nervously, made up some excuse that he needed to make a call that he just remembered, and that she could come back to the dojo after she was done eating and even had time to look around the block at the stores before class began.

He didn't know whether to kill Johnny or toss the kid at her as a sacrifice. This was all the kid's doing after all! Why'd he have to pick on the one girl who was going to end up being a classmate? No, strike that. Why did Johnny have to grope her? That was totally the biggest offense. Yes, yes, that's right.

No, it was ALL wrong and the two of them were going to meet soon and clash in class and oh God it was going to be such a _nightmare_ –He was hoping Johnny called in sick for once. Even if the others recognized Danielle, it wouldn't be as bad as it would be if it was Danielle confronting Johnny.

He found himself calling Terry because he didn't know what else to do. Even if his friend was being an asshole, at least he'd commiserate with John over this new turn of events.

"John! You actually called? Wow, that's –"

John cut off Terry's sarcastic quip. "Shut up. It's about Danielle."

"Wait, you sound like you'd already met her! How'd it go? What did you guys do? Is she cute?"

John once again cut him off. "Never mind that! I'll tell you later. Right now, I need advice."

That made Terry intrigued, since he'd tried to earlier and had been rebuffed harshly. Okay, so maybe he mostly wanted to heckle and mess with John, but he'd been willing to impart advice too!

"Yeah? What's up? I've never taught a girl too, but you know, I could probably think of something."

"Yeah, no. I have a different issue," John grumbled. "You know one of my students? Johnny Lawrence? Yeah, apparently those two, and the rest of Johnny's crew, already met and it didn't go so well. According to her, Johnny physically attacked her and then groped her, uh, breast. Yeah. And they're going to meet in…" he looked at the clock, "5 minutes."

"Oh," Terry said. "Shit."

"My thoughts exactly. What do I do?"

"Offer the kid up as a sacrifice," Terry said seriously. "Thou shall not get in the way of a woman's wrath."

John groaned, but that had been his thought too. "She might murder him."

"Mmhm."

"I might go to jail as an accomplice for not doing anything."

"I'll bail you two out."

John burst out laughing, running a hand through his hair. "Ah well, I guess that's that. Should I even try to help Johnny somehow?"

He could practically hear Terry's shrug through the phone. "I guess. Just to say you tried and you did your duty as a teacher. Otherwise, retreat veeeery far away, my man. It's going to be a slaughter."

John grimaced. "That's what I'm afraid of," he heard noise outside his office and sighed. "I gotta go. Talk to you later."

"Yeah, sure, sure. Let's grab a beer or something. See you!"

John took a deep breath and refrained from hitting his head against the wall. It would've been nice to be unconscious for this though…

He walked out and caught the tail end of the guys teasing Johnny, and winced when he heard what about.

"Haha, Johnny the Perv!"

"S-shut up, Dutch! I told you, it wasn't like that! Damn it, it was a fucking accident!"

"Really, Johnny? I think you were just being smooth and snuck in a grope!"

"Shut up, guys! I mean it!"

John twitched.

* * *

Johnny was pissed. The guys wasn't letting that stupid time go, and now the rest of the class was coming in and hearing them, and wondering what they were talking about.

Dutch was snickering, ignoring his glare. "Dude, you started it. You're the one who wanted to storm down to the beach and start shit."

His face flushed red. "I know, I know. Fuck, I messed up alright? Damn it, I shouldn't have even grabbed her arm like that –b-but I didn't even know she was a girl! I thought he was a freaking pretty boy and he was hitting up Ali, so I got even more pissed with him –her! Her, I mean."

He grabbed at his hair and pulled. Oh, he screwed up royally. He was so glad his parents didn't know about this, more so that he'd accidentally –it really was an accident! –ended up grabbing onto that girl's breast. He hadn't meant to, but he had. And with her beanie coming off and the fact his hand was touching something it wasn't supposed to, had led to the understanding that he and friends realized that 'he' was actually a 'she'.

"Hey, boys," he heard their sensei and they turned around to face him. However, Johnny balked. Their teacher, despite his smile, looked anything but happy, and there was a pissed look in his eyes that had Johnny thinking that maybe he should run away. "What's this about a girl?"

Johnny stared wide-eyed at his teacher. However, he wasn't the only one. The others around him fidgeted and had quieted down.

Sensei Kreese growled something and shook his head. "Oh forget it, I already know what happened." Wait, what?! How? "Anyway, Johnny, you have three seconds to start bowing and scraping."

Huh? What did he –

Sensei Kreese moved around them and towards the door. "Hey, Danielle! Welcome to your first class!"

Johnny grew cold. Even though he didn't know her name and hadn't seen her yet, he knew exactly who it was that had entered the dojo, simply because of Sensei Kreese's warning.

"Hey, Sensei! I'm really excited to meet everyone!"

Johnny cursed under his breath, recognizing the voice, and looked for an exit. He needed to run away, hide, something! He was _not_ prepared for this meeting.

"Oh, fuck," he heard Dutch mutter.

Well, at least Johnny wasn't the only one.

"Danielle, let me introduce you to everyone. Guys, this is Danielle LaRusso. She'll be learning with us from now on. Danielle, this is _Mr. Lawrence_."

"No, no, no, no," he started muttering, not wanting to look around. But then a hand clasped hard on his shoulder and he looked up to see his sensei grinning slightly evilly at him, turning him around to face Danielle because his body was frozen and unable to move or resist.

' _No, Sensei, why?!'_

He winced when he locked eyes with Danielle, seeing her clearly this time. There was no mistaking her as not a girl, what with her doe eyes, soft lips and slim face. Man, he was stupid and blind.

And screwed too, by the murderous look that appeared on her face when she caught sight of him.

"H-hi," his voice actually squeaked.

Danielle's face immediately smoothed over and she plastered a smile on her face. It was in no way in hell genuine.

"Please to meet you," she barely withheld the snarl.

Johnny tried to inconspicuously move a few steps back, but Sensei Kreese's hand locked him down. The other guys, except for the others in class outside his group, all had a similar subdued and cowed reaction to greeting Danielle, who (while not as harshly as with him) barely greeted them kindly.

"Alright, class. Let's start with warm ups," Sensei Kreese announced. "Danielle, why don't you stay closer to the front and me, so you can see more clearly how the class is run and how to do the steps. Mr. Brown, I want you positioned next to her, so that if she needs help or has questions and I'm not there to help, you can help her."

Johnny let out a relieved breath, glad it wasn't him. He felt sympathy for Bobby though, who looked like a deer caught in headlights, but better him than Johnny. There was no way he was going anywhere near her, when she was practically glaring holes into him.

Several times though, through class, Sensei Kreese did his usual random reaction test and would throw whoever onto the matt if they weren't paying attention…but it seemed as if he was paying particular focus on Johnny and the others (Johnny specifically).

It hurt like hell, but he suppose this was supposed to be penance or something. Or at least he hoped it would, because he really just wanted everyone to forget the incident and not talk about it anymore. He was beyond embarrassed now, and would like for it to all go away.

"Okay, sparring time. _Mr. Lawrence_ , I've got a special task for you," Sensei Kreese said, putting emphasis on his name that boded no good will. "I need you to help Danielle practice her punches and kicks."

He looked at his sensei in betrayal before looking at Danielle like the very deer in headlights look he said Bobby had. She was staring at him impassionedly before a smile began to slowly stretch across her face.

"Hey," Tommy whispered to him. "Before you die, can you will your Xbox One to me?"

Johnny gulped.

* * *

It hurt like _hell_. Her punches and kicks had a hell of a strength behind them and she missed a few times –a few times too many, especially with that broad smile on her face! He was sure that she'd done it on purpose. Also, he knew he spied those punching mitts to the side, but his sensei didn't offer them and even kicked them out of sight before Johnny and Danielle had begun.

"Um, Danielle," he started.

"Yes?" she scowled at him.

"Look, I'm _really_ sorry," he said quickly. "I swear to God I didn't mean to do that! I-it was an accident, I promise. I didn't mean to touch you like that. I was just trying to get a better hold on you and my hand just grabbed on to-to…you know! And I thought you were a guy."

Danielle's eyebrow twitched. "You thought I was a _guy_?"

Oh crap, did he just make it worse?

Danielle cocked her fist back and punched him in the gut.

"Oops, I missed."

Johnny gasped out, bending over. He shakily held up a thumbs up.

"Yeah, okay. Gotcha."

Fuck, that huuuurrrt…

He was completely glad when class was over and he could retreat. He and the guys left the class in terror, though only he and Bobby had been afflicted with Danielle, even if they all had suffered the silent wrath of their sensei.

"It really wasn't that bad," Bobby said in amusement, and the others (Johnny especially) looked at him in disbelief. "She was nice. The two of us got along at least."

"What, really?" Dutch's jaw dropped. "I thought she'd hate us!"

"It hurts still," Johnny mumbled, bending over on his bike and letting his forehead rest on the handlebars.

"Poor Johnny," Tommy laughed. "But he is Johnny the Perv!"

Johnny would have throttled him if he could. Instead, he mumbled something unintelligibly and started his motorbike. The others kept laughing at him, even as they started their own bikes, and then they were speeding off.

It wasn't long until Johnny split off from them and headed home, to where he stopped his bike before his driveway and got off. He moved his bike to the side and parked it, and then entered his home.

"Hurry, Johnny! We've got guests tonight, so dress up a bit, won't you?" his mother said urgently.

He rolled his eyes, heading for the stairs. "Sure, Mom. Who's coming?"

"The Mills," his father said, making Johnny winced. "That means your girlfriend will be here, so make a good impression, son."

Johnny winced, pausing at the stairs. "Uh, about that…she's not my girlfriend anymore," he muttered. "She broke up with me a few weeks ago."

"Oh, Johnny, are you alright?" his mother asked sympathetically. He would have milked it and tried to spin it as if it wasn't his fault, but Ali was sure to get to his parents and tell the truth, and then he'd be in hot water.

"I was a bit of a jerk to her," he admitted. "So I'll try to play nice and grovel tonight."

It would make for good practice for when he had to do the same for Danielle. Easier too, since Ali knew him and her problems with him wasn't as bad.

His mother gave him a slight smile and a knowing look. "Ask your father for tips," she said wryly. "He's had to do plenty of that in the past."

Johnny choked down a laugh as his father grew flustered. He finished climbing the stairs and went to take a shower. After he got ready, he was quick to get out of his room and head downstairs, when he froze in his tracks as he heard Ali's voice.

"Haha, it's such a funny story, Mrs. Lawrence! But Johnny had been such a pervert that day –"

Johnny rushed down the stairs and skidded to a stop, seeing everyone's eyes on him. Ali was smirking, while his father was staring at him unimpressed and his mother in shock. Ali's parents were surprised and dismayed.

"Do tell, Ali," his father said dryly.

Johnny mentally groaned. He'd dated her. How could he have forgotten how vindictive Ali could be?!

Started 2/9/17 – Completed 2/9/17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, Johnny…You are so screwed XD I found writing this chapter to be very fun, lol. I hope everyone did too! Please remember to leave a review~


	5. Welp...It's a Start?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Playlist:  
> Natural Blues by Moby

Johnny was sweating. Fuck, why did Ali have to do this to him?

"It's not what you think!" he rushed to say, but Ali continued on like he'd never said anything.

"See, my friends and I were just hanging around the beach and I met this really cool, sweet and pretty girl that just moved here –her name's Danielle –"

"Wait, wait," he cut in. "If anyone's telling the story, it can't be you! You'll just twist everything –!"

"So Danielle was teaching me some soccer stuff, and she's really good at it so I was really impressed, when Johnny and his friends came speeding by on their motorbikes. They parked and started storming down to the beach, where Johnny marched over to me and started harassing me –"

"That's not true!" Johnny protested vehemently. "I just wanted to talk to you."

"And I didn't," Ali huffed. "And that ended up with us fighting because you wouldn't just go away. And then you shut off my radio!"

"You were refusing to listen to me!" Johnny glared. "I turned it off so you'd pay attention to me instead!"

"You held my radio hostage!"

"I said I'd give it back after we talked!"

"You ended up breaking it!"

"Ali, Johnny!" Johnny's mother actually raised her voice, giving them a stern look. They turned sheepish as they realized their parents were watching them unamused.

"Could you continue on without fighting?" Ali's dad asked, somewhat sarcastic sounding.

Ali took a deep breath. "While we were fighting, Danielle came over and tried to calm things down. Johnny just snarled at her to not interfere, which ended up pissing her off. Johnny tried to get to me, but Danielle stood in the way and refused to let him. He grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her and then pushed her to the floor, and then he grabbed her breast."

"Johnny!" his mother exclaimed aghast.

"Don't cut corners, Ali!" Johnny said upset. "When I was doing that, I was trying to get a better hold on her and grabbed it on accident. And at that time, her beanie came off and I hadn't thought she had any breasts because _I thought she was a guy_! After I'd accidently groped her and saw her longer hair, that's when I realized it, okay? I didn't mean to grope her!"

Ali snorted, while Johnny's dad grimaced. "I don't…think that's any better."

"How could you mistake her for a boy?" Ali couldn't keep her giggles in. "Oh my God, she's so pretty and exotic, I can't believe you!"

Johnny flushed red, glaring heatedly at his ex-girlfriend, who wouldn't stop laughing at him.

"It is a bit funny, dear," his mother reluctantly said.

"Here, I have some pictures of her," Ali said excitedly. "Her friend…that guy named Freddy…he sent me a few texts of pictures of her that they took on their way over. Ah, here!"

Ali showed the grownups the pictures (Johnny tried to get a glimpse, but the others crowded around and he couldn't see passed them).

"I've only got pictures of her with her beanie on," Ali said. "See?"

"Sorry, Johnny. I really can't see how you could have mistaken her for a boy," Ali's father shook his head.

"I thought she was a really pretty boy and I was kind of busy being jealous and thinking 'he' was hitting on Ali to really see," Johnny grumbled.

"Well, maybe a very, very, _very_ pretty boy," Ali's mother conceded, though even she sounded still a bit skeptical.

"Either way, you are grounded, young man," his own mother looked at him sternly. "And you'll be finding where that young lady lives and apologizing properly, you hear?"

"Too bad you'll have to wait until school starts to find her," Ali smirked at him, probably relishing in his torment. "She's going to our school by the way."

"I don't have to wait until then," Johnny frowned.

"Oh? Then how do you expect to find her? You don't know where she lives, who her friends are and where they live, and no other clue than apparently –as Ali said –she's going to be going to your school," his father gave him an admonishing look.

"She's a new student in my karate class," Johnny grimaced.

Ali practically squealed. "Really? Ohhh, I have to come by so I can say hi to her…"

"Then did you apologize to her then?" his mother looked at him expectantly.

Johnny was ready to pull out his hair. "I tried," he mumbled. "I think it was sort of working…up until I admitted I thought she was a guy. Then she proceeded to punch my lights out."

"No, no, no!" Ali laughed out. "You can't skimp out like that! You have to tell us everything!"

And Johnny thought, hey! Maybe if he'd tell them, they'd feel sorry for him and see he'd already been punished enough. So he did. He told them how Sensei Kreese more or less seemed to know, had periodically punished them through the class, how he'd paired Johnny with her, and how she'd aggressively worked with him in class and he'd let her. Then he mentioned the apology gone wrong and how she'd punched him in the gut.

To his utter humiliation, they _all_ started laughing at him.

"I don't know what you expected," Ali wasn't holding back on her laughter. "You thought she really wouldn't take offense to that?"

"Oh, Johnny, where was your sense?" his mother shook her head.

"You'll still have to apologize properly to her. In fact, I still want you to find out where she lives, so your mother and I can come with you and give a proper apology for your behavior." Johnny's father said sternly. "Are we clear, Johnny?"

"Yes, Dad," Johnny inwardly sighed.

"Good, so do your best, Johnny."

He quailed away from his mother's unhappy look.

* * *

John and Terry were once again at the bar and having a drink. They'd sat down and clinked their glasses, and then John had to face a grinning Terry who was looking at him in impatience.

"So?" Terry demanded.

"So what?" John deadpanned.

"Oh come on! Don't be like that, John," Terry said, letting a tinge of a whine enter his voice. "Tell me about the day. Most specifically, how did it go with Danielle? How was she, how was teaching her, what does she look like? Spill!"

John grumbled under his breath and huffed, but did end up talking.

"It wasn't as bad as I'd thought. I taught almost like I normally did, minus all the usual rough treatment, the strike hard stuff, and less yelling. She's got a mean kick and punch, said she'd done some boxing and gymnastics before, and something about cardio kickboxing."

Terry gave him a weird look at that, but he just shrugged.

"She's a quick teach and really good at catching onto stuff. All in all, the whole teaching her wasn't the big problem I had to deal with today." Though, John was still unsure about teaching her and how to deal with her, but he was sure he'd get used to it and/or find some sort of solution.

"Oh, so what was? Didn't you call and tell me about your kids and her already meeting?"

"Yeah, so this is what happened," John began telling Terry a little more in detail of what happened, as was told to him by Danielle, and a little of what he'd overheard from Johnny, who'd been trying to apologize to her and ended up screwing it up. Kid deserved that punch in the gut…

"Huh. Now I'm really curious to know how she looks like," Terry said and John fished out his phone.

"I got a pic," he said gruffly. "We were messing around with our phones a little bit in the restaurant."

Terry leaned over to look before blinking and staring blankly.

"I'm sorry, did you say your student thought she was a guy?" John nodded. "Fucking kid's blind."

John's lip twitched up, while Terry started to chortle.

"My God, she looks nowhere near that. I mean…just no! I don't see it at all. She can't even pass off as a pretty boy, thank you very much. I don't see an inch of androgyny in her either. I don't…what? I'm so confused right now," Terry kept shaking his head.

"Yeah, I know," John snickered. "When I heard him say that, I nearly stopped in my tracks and stopped focusing on the class. I almost just stood there and wanted to stare at him incredulously."

"She _is_ really pretty though," Terry commented slyly, and didn't miss the way his friend's cheeks pinked a bit. "Totally my type."

John twitched and socked Terry's shoulder.

"In your dreams, asshole."

* * *

The next day, Johnny was sure he couldn't contain his anxiety. His parents had been giving him looks all morning and the rest of yesterday. That day, he was going to have class with her again and he was going to redo his apology and then ask her for her address.

Not that he thought she was going to accept his apology, much less give him her address.

Damn it, why couldn't his parents just come to the karate class and apologize with him there?!

Maybe it might get her to accept his apology if she saw his parents. But then it would be best for the apology to come at her home, where his parents could be with him? In which case, why couldn't they come to class and get it over with? Ugh. He was going to keep going in circles, if he didn't stop.

Wait a sec…Bobby was paired with her too. He'd said that it hadn't been too bad and they'd gotten along.

Lunging for his phone, he called Bobby and waited.

"Hello?"

"Bobby! I need a favor. Can you tell me what you did to get Danielle to not be so angry at you?"

Bobby tutted. "For one, I didn't actually do much to her in the first place. Also, I approached her first with an apology, before we ever got to practicing anything. Then we started to talk a little, with her a little wary, before we were getting along and talking lightly about stuff and just getting to know each other. I mean, she wasn't spilling her darkest secrets or anything, but I think we could start being friends really soon?"

Johnny mentally whined in his head. Why couldn't it have been so easy for him?

"I need to find out where she lives so my folks and I can go over and apologize," Johnny told him. "I'm not looking forward to class later, since I'm going to try apologizing again by myself, and then trying to get her address so me and my parents can come over."

"I know her address," Bobby surprised him.

"What? Really? Tell me!"

"Alright, alright. As long as you're going over there with your parents," Bobby laughed. He rattled off an address that Johnny was quick to write down, before he hung up and then went to find his mom and dad to tell them.

Once he had, they'd hurried into a car to drive over and Johnny really hoped that this would finally be blown over and he could move on. Soon enough, they'd reached Reseda and then were in front of an apartment building that had probably seen better days.

"Well, isn't this place cozy?" his mother looked around nervously, tittering quietly to herself.

"Just stick close together. At least it's daytime…" he heard his father mumble to himself.

Johnny sent a quick prayer to whoever was listening.

"Please freaking let this go."

'Cause he really hoped Danielle would. He totally didn't want to be known as Johnny the Perv or be called that ever again.

* * *

When Risa and Travis Lawrence heard what their son did, they were beyond flabbergasted and shocked. The dismay they were in went into subzero levels, and they had even brought up the old idea of sending Johnny off to military school the night Ali had spilled the beans on the incident. However, first and foremost they wanted Johnny to properly apologize to the girl, and they wanted to be there to make sure he did (and didn't mess up again). They also wanted to apologize for the behavior of their son.

Still, the neighborhood they were in was a bit sketchy and on the poor side, and as they entered the apartment complex, things didn't look any better. The almost empty pool with its leftover discolored water reiterated that.

But they ignored all of that and focused on getting to their destination, prodding Johnny along when it seemed like he was starting to drag his feet and even look reluctant.

"You reap what you sow, son," Travis told him seriously. "You don't get to run from this."

His son sent him a resentful look that he ignored, and Risa herself gave him a 'leave it' look. Travis didn't get to say or do anything else because they'd finally made it to be in front of the door of where they assumed was where the girl lived. Risa nudged Johnny, who hesitantly knocked.

After a moment, it opened and Risa and Travis stood in shock as it did so and showed the girl that their son had insulted and mistook for a boy.

Risa had no idea how he could have. The pictures Ali showed didn't give the girl any justice –Danielle LaRusso was _very_ pretty and _very_ feminine. The very idea of mistaking her for a boy was laughable. Travis's own thoughts echoed that, and he felt embarrassed on not only on behalf of his son but for himself and his wife, considering that Johnny sort of represented them, and by his actions and behavior and thoughts, they would look and seem quite the fools.

Danielle recognized Johnny and narrowed her eyes at him, but as she looked to them, her expression became more hesitant and unsure. She also seemed to start to look self-conscious, given the large jersey she wore and had tied back, showing off the short shorts she wore and revealing long, lean legs.

"Um, Danielle, these are my parents," they distantly heard their son start to say, bringing their attention to the present. More focused, they listened in patiently. "I'm sorry," Johnny rushed to say. "I really screwed up that day and I know that. My parents also really wanted me to come here and properly apologize, but I also really wanted to apologize for real, without saying something else stupid, because we'll be in karate class together and I just would really like to start over with you."

Travis took that as his cue and stepped forward, bringing the girl's attention to him. Her sharp attention made him inwardly balk. It was unusual for him to be faced with such intense scrutiny outside of doing business, and it caught him off guard.

"I'm sorry for my son's behavior," he started out. "It was inexcusable and we raised him better than that."

"We really do not approve of his actions," Risa tacked on. "And we hoped that he will learn from this and to remember to not be so rash or behave in such a fashion in the future."

After a beat where they did not know what she would say or do, and half expecting her to shut the door in their faces or yell at Johnny that he was a sexual predator or something, they felt relieved as Danielle gave a sharp nod.

"I accept your apology, Johnny, and you shouldn't have made your parents come all the way here or make them apologize," she huffed. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience and for dragging you into this, Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence. The two of you also shouldn't apologize."

"It's not inconvenient at all," Risa protested.

"And also not your fault," Travis added. "But let's all just put it passed us and move on?"

"Of course," Danielle said agreeably, smiling warmly at him and Risa, and she was infinitely even prettier with her smile. He could feel his cheeks warm and saw Risa's had too. "Why don't you all come in? I'm making lunch."

"Don't mind if we do," Risa said cheerfully, already accepting even when they saw that their son was going to refuse. Johnny ended up giving them odd looks.

They ignored him. They were just being polite after all.

Started 3/6/17 – Completed 3/7/17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Funny thing, I'm just walking around and then thinking of my crack headcanon of Ali's parents always hitting on Danielle to Ali's embarrassment, and all of a sudden I'm thinking it'd be hilarious jifj all the parents were doing it in here and making the Cobra Kai boys embarrassed as all hell and then I started cracking up in the middle of my hallway. So yeah.
> 
> Enjoy and review please XD


	6. Start Anew

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Playlist:  
> Jezebel by Iron & Wine

When Travis and Risa went into the apartment, they were caught off guard by how put together it was. Compared to the outside, the apartment looked homely and cleaned, not looking remotely close to falling apart as the outside would suggest.

"Sorry it's kind of messy," Danielle said, hurriedly picking up some books and moving a guitar to the side. "I haven't finished fixing up and cleaning the place."

Risa shook her head, smiling blithely while her husband hustled their son to the couch and giving Johnny a 'behave!' look.

"Not at all! Your home is lovely, and well…if we're honest, we didn't expect it after from seeing the outside." Risa blushed, more so as Danielle laughed.

"Oh, you should've seen my reaction when I first moved into here with my mom! I wanted to turn right around and go back to Jersey," she grinned at them.

"Why _did_ you move out here?" Johnny asked, and though Risa wished he'd asked in a different tone and more nicely, she was curious too.

"Mom was supposed to have a job out here," Danielle wrinkled her nose, rather cutely Travis idly noticed. "The whole reason for our move was because she'd gotten hired for some kind of computer job here, but when we got here, it turned out they'd filed for bankruptcy sometime after Mom got hired and she was out of a job before she even started. Lucky for her, according to her anyway, the Chinese restaurant across the street –that's across from Sensei Kreese's place –had an opening when some lady rushed out of there, screaming about quitting and everything, and the boss was apparently following and screaming back about how she was fired," Danielle couldn't help snickering. "Mom had her resumé already, it was about to be the lunch hour and lunch rush was coming, so it was pretty much easy for her to get hired."

"I don't know whether that's bad luck or good luck," Johnny said. Risa almost sighed and just refrained from looking at the ceiling in a 'why us?' manner. However, Danielle didn't seem offended and actually laughed again.

She shrugged at them. "I thought it was bad luck, more so after I met you," she looked to Johnny, but she was still grinning, so they all took that to mean (hopefully) that she was no longer holding it against Johnny and was now okay enough to joke about it (again, hopefully). "Then again, there was the karate dojo Mom found out about and managed to sign me up for, and I've been wanting to take classes since forever, so I guess it makes up for everything else. Plus, Sensei Kreese seems pretty cool."

"He is," Johnny lit up and began grinning too, excitement shining through a little more obviously. "He's totally cool. You'll see when you come into class again, and when you've been around for a long time."

"Do you go to class regularly?" Danielle asked him curiously, and Travis and Risa were both glad it seemed that the two were now getting along.

"Y-yeah," Johnny actually kind of blushed, getting embarrassed, much to his parents' amusement.

"I guess I'll be seeing you more too then," she said, but didn't sound so aggravated about it to their relief. She took out some cooking equipment. "Do you mind if I continue cooking? I'm boiling pasta, but I have to get started on the sauce."

"Oh, right! We interrupted your cooking. We're very sorry," Risa started, but Danielle waved her off, smiling sweetly. "Nah, it's okay. I'm glad you guys came. I managed to forgive Johnny and he got to apologize better. I also got to meet his really awesome and kind parents."

Risa practically preened while Travis laughed awkwardly and grinned goofily, which had Johnny stare at them weirdly.

"You guys are also amazingly young," Danielle noted thoughtfully, beginning to stir the sauce they hadn't noticed that she'd already began working on.

Risa legitimately giggled at that, causing Johnny to gape at his mom. "Nonsense!" Risa airily waved, feeling herself blush. "We're in our early thirties, dear."

Danielle scoffed, lowering the heat on the sauce as the pasta finished and she turned that off. "Oh please, that's nothing, Mrs. Lawrence. And even better, you still don't look your age!"

If Risa and Travis were feeling supremely giddy, then well…it's been a while since they felt young and fresh, and not exhausted and all worked out. Suddenly, at that moment, they were feeling decades younger and reenergized.

They waited while she was finishing draining the pasta in the sink and had transferred it to a large container, before she returned back to the sauce and turned up the heat slightly.

"So your mom's at work, huh?" Johnny brought up, having decided to ignore his parents.

"Yup," Danielle said, popping the 'p'. "She'll be home late. In the meantime, I'm in charge of this place, so I've sort of slowly been fixing things up and cleaning."

"It's great," Travis said. "You seem so responsible, cleaning and maintaining the apartment on your own…and even cooking!"

He was amazed she was so put together. Those her age were usually off doing their own thing, hanging out with friends and not caring about these kinds of things, with their own Johnny being a prime example.

"Ah, well, for the most part it's always just been my mom and me," Danielle admitted. "Except for the last 4 years, where we lived with family, it's been just the two of us, and Mom worked long hours and would work hard for us to live somewhere well enough. I had to learn to try to take care of myself early on, and to help out when I can, and I mostly made the meals since Mom would be too tired to."

"Oh," Johnny said awkwardly while his parents quieted down. "Uh, how come you lived with family for the last 4 years?"

"Mom went to school," she said. "Got a degree. That shiny new degree was supposed to be what got her that job here in LA. 'Course that didn't pan out…Eh, enough about that. How long have you guys lived here?"

And then they were talking about all sorts of things, and lunch followed, to which they were treated to some actually pretty good food.

"Don't tell my family I used packaged pasta," she told them sheepishly. "I was feeling pretty lazy, but they probably wouldn't excuse me from not making homemade pasta on my own."

"You make homemade pasta?" Johnny asked incredulously while his parents laughed lightly.

"We don't even _cook_ ," Risa said reassuringly. "No judgement certainly from here."

All in all, it was actually a pretty good start to the restart that was totally badly needed for their son. _They_ certainly didn't mind the meeting.

* * *

After the Lawrence family left, Danielle decided to find Mr. Miyagi. Apparently, he'd stopped by and fixed the water heater like she'd asked, and now the apartment had wonderful, glorious hot water for her to use. Which was great, because she hadn't liked showering with cold water at all.

Making her way back to the place where she'd first found him, she saw that he was trimming his bonsai trees. Which made the gift she'd brought along with her perfect as a thank you gift, at least she'd hope so. Knocking quietly on his doorframe so she didn't disturb him, she smiled slightly when she caught his attention.

"Hello, Mr. Miyagi! I just wanted to drop by and thank you for your help, and give this as a thank you gift," she smiled wider as she held up the bonsai tree she'd bought for him. He was a kind old man and it seemed he was alone, which was kind of sad to her.

He bowed slightly several times. "Arigato, Danielle-san," he surprised her when he remembered her name from her introduction last time they met. "Come in, come in."

She went inside and handed him the gift, to which he accepted it and gently set it down.

"Would you like to learn how to trim bonsai tree?" he asked her, again surprising her.

She was kind of intrigued, since she'd learned a little about bonsai trees when she'd looked it up in the process of deciding to buy him one as thanks. She knew it was more of an art, and not just trimming a regular plant or tree, so she came closer in curiosity.

"First, for bonsai tree, you must picture what you'd like to see it as. You could keep it in your mind, or sketch it out if you'd like," Mr. Miyagi told her, showing her a drawing pad to the side he had. "But clear picture, you must have, Danielle-san. After that, you go to bonsai tree to try to copy."

She blinked, absorbing what he'd said. She tried to visualize something, even though she didn't have too much of a clue and wasn't really creative, and ended up thinking of maybe a traditional one like the ones she usually saw in Japanese art and stuff. Deciding against sketching it this time (she wasn't really an artist anyway), she looked to Mr. Miyagi and nodded. He gave her a small smile and gestured to the bonsai tree she'd given him, handing her a pair of trimmers.

Carefully, trying to copy what he showed her on how to hold the trimmers, she watched him trim a branch and tried to copy it as carefully as he did. She put all her attention and focus on it, trying to not mess up and be as close to what she'd pictured in her head. Several times, Mr. Miyagi quietly corrected her on how to hold the trimmers or remind her how to cut the branches and leaves of the bonsai tree, but pretty soon she was getting it. At least the trimming and cutting part, because her vison of how it was supposed to look like wasn't quite what she ended up with.

She laughed embarrassedly, but Mr. Miyagi only patted her shoulder.

"Good job, Danielle-san. Come here and practice some more, and you will be as good as Miyagi-san," he said.

She doubted that, but she did want to practice some more. She wasn't bad at least and she wanted to help him out –plus, it was kind of calming and relaxing.

"Sure, Mr. Miyagi, that sounds great," she replied. She looked at the time. "Ah, I guess I have to be going now. I'll be late for lessons! Thanks again, Mr. Miyagi, and I'll see you around."

He politely saw her out the door, and then she was hurrying to her bike. After she'd managed to maneuver it out of the area, she got on it and hurried to the dojo.

* * *

John was arguing on the phone about uniforms. He was actually arguing on the phone about _uniforms_. Like what the hell? It wasn't a new thing about girls learning karate or anything, so why wasn't there a uniform size for girls for his dojo?

"Your dojo usually has boys, so like the other dojos, we have the sizes pre-made, and for yours we've set up all boy sizes. We haven't made any sizes for girls in your dojo's uniform, so we'll need to custom make the size."

This is such _bullshit_. But goddammit, he understood. He'd never had a female student in all the time he'd had the dojo, so there had never been a change in his uniform standards. And now there was a change and it was abrupt, so obviously they had to make adjustments and change that.

But that also meant that it was going to freaking take longer than he'd thought to get her uniform, and he wasn't sure how long it was going to take. That meant she had to go on as is for the time being, which also meant that –in a month's time –he wasn't sure if she was going to have a fitted uniform in time for the Vegas showcase he and his dojo were going to for the martial arts exhibition.

And the immediate problem he hadn't even gone into yet, was the fact that he had to take her measurements. Which was awkward.

He was a male teacher and she was a female student. It didn't _get_ any more awkward than that.

"Goddammit," he muttered.

It didn't help matters when there was an annoying voice in the back of his head, sounding irritatingly enough like Terry, that was a little too gung ho about this.

He put it out of his head, as Danielle came in and put her stuff away, and together they began cleaning up what needed to be cleaned, and then finished setting up as the rest of the class trickled in. To his amusement and curiosity, he noted Danielle greeting Johnny politely (who responded rather nervously) and Bobby a little more enthusiastically.

He remembered pairing up Bobby and her yesterday, and it had seemed alright, so he could guess they'd gotten along and she wasn't so irritated by him. But, judging from yesterday, he would have guessed that she'd still be pissed off at Johnny, but it seemed something had happened between that class and this class that caused a change. He was almost willing to be nosy and pry, but didn't. At least, not until class ended and he could ask Danielle about it.

He started teaching his class and again he tried to avoid his more harsher methods. He needed to find someone to ask about teaching Danielle, and see if he needed to tone down himself or what. He was in a helluva lot of confusion from this and frankly going nuts.

Terry, again, was also a big part of that.

Class actually went almost as normal as usual, which surprised him, and he felt a little relieved at the end of it. He was also inwardly chuckling at how the rest of Johnny's posse was like around Danielle, acting like scared animals and ready to run if spooked, and Johnny was partly the same and partly astonishingly trying to talk to her and engage her in interacting. She and Bobby were definitely getting along quite fine, so he had no worries about those two or having the kids work together. Bobby was certainly someone he could count on to help him catch Danielle up.

Speaking of…

"Hey, you know, you've barely started and you're doing great," he praised her.

She grinned at him. "Awesome! I'm glad I'm not being too much trouble."

"Not at all," he reassured her.

But the measurements…He winced.

"Ah, there is one thing," he started nervously.

She waited for him, looking at him questioningly. He rushed to tell her the problem, but she looked confused.

"Is there a problem?"

He sighed to himself. "No, no problem," he lied. No need to get her all worked up about it, when he already was. "So can I get your measurements? Do you know them?"

"Nah, I don't. If you have a measuring tape here, just measure me," she shrugged.

His eye twitched, but he said nothing as he went and retrieved the measuring tape. Heading to her, he stared and then looked at the measuring tape. He hesitatingly unraveled it and let one end of the tape go down and held it next to her and then stared.

Grumbling to himself, he ended up grabbing the tape and scrunching it together, before he marched Danielle across the street to look for her mother. Confronting Lucille, he shoved her daughter in front of him and held out the messy grouped up tape to her.

"I need your help, Ms. LaRusso. I don't know how to get your daughter's measurements," he said, face bright red.

And if the ladies laughed at him, well, he wasn't going to say a word about his embarrassment and let them know about it.

Started 5/13/17 – Completed 5/16/17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god, there's going to be so much funny parent teasing and the boys getting all embarrassed and irritated by them XD And Ali is going to be such a _horrible instigator_ ~ I can't wait to write it all XD I hope you guys managed to enjoy this chapter, so please remember to review! They motivate me to write like crazy :D


	7. Hang With the Boys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Playlist:  
> Worth It by Fifth Harmony

"I've survived for two weeks," John moaned as he slumped on Terry's couch.

Terry chuckled and shook his head. "That bad?"

"Well, it wasn't bad per se," he winced. "It's just…I didn't think it'd be so hard to teach her. I mean, I knew I was going to have trouble –I was freaking out from the beginning after all. But shit man, I taught like I was in the military and the boys handled it fine. Not that she can't handle it! She's great, Terry –and hella easy to teach. It's just that I wish I knew a way to teach karate…a little less harsher? So that she'd be a little less uncomfortable when I and the boys get all…"

"Unmerciful?" Terry supplied helpfully and John threw a pillow at his head.

"Yeah," he shrugged after. "More or less so she don't get all uncomfortable at the way I teach. I teach like shit if it ain't military and rough, you know that."

"Hell yeah," Terry agreed. "You're a fucking bastard."

A tick developed by John's temple, and he was tempted to drag his friend out to the mansion's pool and toss him into it.

Terry started to look at his phone and whistled. "But damn man, she's gorgeous. When do I get to meet her?"

"Never," John deadpanned. Then he narrowed his eyes. "What are you looking at?" he asked suspiciously.

"Nothing," Terry sing-songed and John shot up to his feet and rushed him, wrestling the phone away.

When he saw what Terry had opened up on his phone, John almost threw it at Terry's head for real before the other man had managed to snatch it away.

"How the hell did you get my picture of her?!"

Terry rolled his eyes. "Duh. I stole your phone one day and sent it to my phone."

"I'm going to kill you!"

* * *

Honestly, Danielle didn't exactly expect to be hanging out with the others at Johnny's house. But there she was, in Johnny's huge, extravagant living room with Johnny himself, Bobby, Dutch, Tommy, and Jimmy, and being asked questions and slowly loosening up and warming up to them.

"You guys okay? Danielle, a little more soda?" Johnny's dad, Travis, came in.

"I'm good, thanks," she smiled at him.

Travis grinned widely, cheeks pink. "Okay. Just let me know, alright?"

He left and Dutch poked Johnny. "What's with your parents? They've been acting all weird, coming in all the time and asking if we need anything."

"I don't know," Johnny huffed. "They've been acting weird since they met Danielle."

She blinked. "Really?"

"Yeah!" he exclaimed. "They've been super weird! Sorry, guys. I don't know what's up with them. They're being totally embarrassing."

Tommy poked at the strange looking pasta dish that was there for them to snack on. "They're trying to cook too. What happened to your cook? They get fired or on vacation or somethin'?"

Johnny huffed, before eying Danielle with a grin. "They saw her cooking when they met, and they've been trying to cook a little ever since. It's a total mess and the kitchen becomes a disaster."

Danielle blushed, offering a sheepish grin back. "Maybe I should offer them cooking lessons?"

"Please do," the blond snorted. "I don't think I can handle being poisoned again."

The group burst into laughter at that.

"Hey, you told us about yourself and how it was in Jersey, but you said you haven't really been around LA, right?" Bobby asked her.

She looked at him puzzled. "No, I haven't really yet."

"Awesome! Let's go to the arcade," Dutch suggested. "You said you like to play games, right? There's this huge arcade we go to a lot. Come with us."

Surprised at the offer, Danielle thought it wouldn't hurt and agreed. She _was_ starting to get along with the boys and sort of be friends. This would be nice to just hang out with them.

They got up and cleaned up, and Johnny let his parents know they were going.

"Oh," Risa looked disappointed. "Bye, boys. Bye, Danielle."

"Yeah, bye, Danielle," Travis echoed.

She said goodbye too, only feeling amused as Johnny grabbed her arm and started dragging her away from them, muttering about "weirdo parents."

Once again going to ride behind one of the boys on their motorbikes, Dutch eagerly waved her over.

"Ride with me this time, DLo," he smirked and she laughed. Still, it was nice that he'd bestowed her with a nickname already.

As she settled behind him, she missed him sticking his tongue out at Johnny, who'd been about to ask her if she wanted a ride with him, and Bobby, who'd she'd ridden with to there.

* * *

The arcade turned out to be really nice and was even larger than she'd thought it be. There were still lots of people there, some a little younger than her, some her age, and some a little older. But there was a lot of different games to play with, and she admitted she was having fun with the others.

They stuck together for the most part and went through numerous racing and fighting games. Though when she wanted to do DDR, they all kind of disappeared on her. Danielle laughed to herself and decided that it was probably for the best. They probably didn't have a rhythmic bone in their bodies and were probably going to be all awkward about it.

For a while, she played a few rounds by herself before she got tired and decided on a break. She then debated whether to look for the boys or to find something else to amuse herself with, when a trio of college-level guys approached.

"Hey, I'm Rory," one of them introduced himself. "We saw you playing DDR back there. You were really good."

Shyly, she smiled back at them. "Thanks. I'm Danielle."

"I'm Dean," another introduced himself.

"And I'm George," the last guy introduced himself.

"What were you thinking of doing next?" Rory asked, leaning on the game machine next to her. The other two came a bit closer and sort of arranged into a small circle.

"Finding another game or finding my friends," she told them.

"Ah, pretty girl like you was left alone?" George teased. "I'd hang out with you the whole time if I was your friend," he flirted.

She blushed horribly, refraining from giggling inanely. Was she being flirted with? She was, wasn't she? It'd been awhile and she was embarrassed to find how awkward she was about it. She used to be able to spot any flirting and either steadfastly be able to ignore it and pretend it wasn't happening, or handle it easily.

"I think they were scared off by a dance game," she laughed.

They laughed with her before Rory gestured over to the snack bar and winked at her. "Wanna come with us and get some drinks and snacks?"

Well, that wasn't actually a bad idea…She was getting hungry and thirsty, especially after playing so hard at DDR…

She opened her mouth to agree, when she felt a tug backwards and turned to see Jimmy suspiciously looking at the guys, while pulling her behind him. Quickly, she found Bobby and Tommy on either side of her, while Jimmy stood in front of her and then Johnny and Dutch had sort of sidled up to Jimmy's sides.

"Sorry, she's with us," Johnny declared.

Rory raised an eyebrow. "Come on, man. We were just going to hang out. We were gonna take care of her."

Dutch scowled. "Yeah…no. See you around –not!"

And then she found herself being marched away from them and to, ironically, the snack bar.

"I'm going to get some snacks and drinks," Tommy announced huffily. "I'll get everyone's usual."

"But you don't know my usual," Danielle blinked, but Tommy was already gone.

She shook her head and looked at the rest of the guys, who were obviously not looking at her. She rolled her eyes.

"You boys really didn't need to get all protective," her lips were twitching, recognizing that they strangely had gotten all protective over her. Were they really even close enough for them to be like that? "I was fine with those guys."

"They were totally hitting on you," Jimmy grumbled.

She wondered if she should tell them she knew that. She looked them over and mentally shook her head. Yeah, no. They were probably going to ignore her about it anyway, and stick to their protective behavior.

Tommy came over with some food and drinks, before yanking Dutch to come with him to get the rest. She was amused to find that she'd gotten a plate that was piled with a little of everything for her to try. Well, saves going up there and deciding what she wanted.

Later on, she had exited the bathroom and was going to head to the front of the arcade where she was going to meet with the others, when she ran into the three young men from earlier.

"Hey, you!" George greeted, grinning. "Glad to run into you."

"Where are you off to now?" Rory asked.

"Heading home," she told them regretfully. "I'm just heading up to the front to meet my friends."

"Yeah? Why don't you just hang around here with us instead?" Dean said, placing an arm around her and drawing her close.

She straightened up and started to feel uncomfortable.

"I really do have to get home though," she shifted uneasily, trying to move away from Dean, but his arm tightened around her. "It's getting late," she tried to explain.

"No worries," George said slickly. "We can get you home. Just hang out for a bit."

They were being a lot more persistent and she was starting to feel alarmed.

"Maybe…maybe some other time?" Danielle suggested, wanting to yank the arm around her off of her and then run.

She was starting to feel defensive and debated whether she should use what little karate she knew so far, to get out of this situation she found herself in. She didn't want to resort to violence already after all.

Before she could even come to a decision though, she felt first before she saw Dean being harshly pushed from her, and saw Johnny furiously standing there, glaring at the older males.

"Get off her!" he shouted at them.

The others joined in, lining up with Johnny and closing ranks around her as they postured aggressively and glared together at the taller guys.

"You want to really go up against us?" Rory asked coolly, taking a step towards them.

"Try it," Bobby, normally the least aggressive of the boys, actually snarled at the other. "We've got black belt karate training that'll put you down easily," he threatened, which made Danielle look at him in surprise.

That put the older guys on guard and a little wary.

"Tch, whatever," George sneered. "Fuck off, you little punks." Then he looked at Danielle and smirked. "See you around, Danielle."

The other two said something similar and then they were gone.

"Jerks," Dutch grumbled. "Let's get out of here."

"What're we doing next?" Bobby asked, back to being perky and smiling cheerily. It totally messed with Danielle's head, since she'd just seen the normally sweet one of the group act so hostile.

"Let's check out the movies and see what's playing," Jimmy said and the others chorused their agreement, while Danielle just stood there, slightly gaping.

She was caught between being utterly amused and bewildered at this group of boys she'd managed to get stuck with.

Started 8/23/17 – Completed 8/23/17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heh, so they're starting to get along finally! Maybe? Lol, at least they're already protective (Danielle's amused and confused for now, but her slight exasperation is probably going to be full blown exasperation soon enough XD) Next chapter –Ali and her parents! After that, Ali's parents versus Johnny's (and the introductions of the others?!). Hurr hurr, so much fun. Hope you guys liked and were amused at this chapter. Please remember to review! They are what keeps me going to for this site.


	8. Macaulay Culkin Isn't the Only Richie Rich

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Playlist:  
> Girls Like Girls by Hayley Kiyoko

Ali eagerly straightened her sweater and peered into the dojo, trying to catch a glimpse of Danielle. She would have gone to see her long before now, but Johnny had practically begged her off –saying he'd wanted to win Danielle over and try to get a do over with the other girl.

But she'd let that jerk already have his time and now she wanted to see her again!

She was still angry at him for last time, so he was lucky she even agreed to his request in the first place. Personally, after the hell Johnny caused both her and Danielle (and more so back when they'd been dating and he'd been _such_ a possessive, jealous asshole the whole time), she should've just let him continue to face Danielle's wrath and laugh at his misfortune. Then again, as she heard it, it sounded like Danielle had forgiven him semi-quickly. But if you asked her, it was probably more to the fact that Johnny had dragged his parents with him to apologize.

Ali debated whether or not to enter the dojo or wait outside for Danielle, but the choice was taken from her as Danielle exited out right then.

"Oh!" Danielle exclaimed in surprise at the sight of her. "Ali! Long time no see. How are you?"

The blonde beamed at the other, especially since Danielle had remembered her.

"Good! I was actually dropping by here, hoping I'd run into you. You want to go grab some milkshakes?"

Danielle blinked but then grinned. "Sure, sounds good to me. Lead the way."

Ali was ecstatic and grabbed Danielle's hand, mindful of not going too fast since the brunette had a bag that looked heavy. At around a corner, there was a diner that she went into and found one of the smaller booths to sit in.

"I'm really glad to have run into you again," Danielle said, making Ali inwardly crow in delight at the admission. "Last time we met ended up really horribly and I wish things hadn't ended up the way it did. Before that, we were starting to have a really good time and I thought I was making friends with you."

"You were," Ali said quickly. "And I thought the same. I really enjoyed hanging out with you and was having fun."

Danielle looked happy and relieved. "You have no idea how awesome that is –you're actually my first female friend. Back in Jersey, for some reason I just couldn't make friends with any of the girls my age."

"Really?" Ali asked in shock. "I can't believe that!"

She really couldn't. Danielle had seemed so cool and that was just from what Ali had seen from their first meeting. Her other friends were just so girlish and too prim sometimes, but Danielle had been laidback and even a bit boyish, even while still being able to be feminine. Something Ali wished she could do and be able to balance that out. She wanted to play soccer, do something like karate, or whatever else mostly boys do, and yet still be girly.

Danielle was so pretty, Ali thought while they chatted on. She had such a pretty face and soft looking lips. She was so slender, but she looked strong too, like she really could have outfought Johnny on the beach that day (which technically she did).

And her hair looked so soft…Ali's fingers twitched and she had the urge to play with Danielle's hair. She wondered if she'd let her style it later on? Or makeup. She'd like to put makeup on her.

Ah geez, Ali sounded so weird. Good thing this was all stuff in her head. Imagine if she'd just blurted out all of this to anyone, much less Danielle!

She inwardly huffed. It was her own private thoughts and she could think whatever. Hmph.

Still, it was nice to have a friend that wasn't so judgmental or so fixated on girlish things all the time. She loved Susan and Barbara, and she didn't mind talking about boys, gossiping, or doing makeup and hairstyling, but sometimes she just wanted to yank her hair out and scream out in frustration and boredom.

Danielle was like a breath of fresh air.

"So we'll meet here tomorrow and I'll take you to my house?" Ali asked, finalizing their plans for tomorrow.

"I can't wait," Danielle said, and her excitement was more than shared by Ali.

Sometimes, just sometimes, Ali felt so caged and alone. Somehow she didn't feel like that right now.

After Danielle left her, heading to the Chinese restaurant from across the street to the dojo, Ali waited for her ride. It wasn't long until her chauffeur came and picked her up, driving her back to her home where she practically skipped inside.

"Ali?" her mother asked in amusement. "Something put you in a good mood?"

"I get to hang out with Danielle tomorrow," Ali smiled widely at her mother, with her father coming into the kitchen at that time.

"Danielle?" her father asked and Ali reminded him of who she was talking about.

"You know, the one Johnny the Perv groped that time," Ali said nonchalantly, and her father stifled a laugh as her mother sighed.

"Sweetie, you need to stop calling Johnny that," her mother told her disapprovingly. "If not for him, then for Travis and Risa. Feel a little bit sorry for them, won't you? Their son earning a reputation and that nickname isn't going to be easy on them."

Ali rolled her eyes. "Yes, Mom."

"So this Danielle," her father hesitantly started. "We don't know much about her. She's Italian, you said?"

"Mmhm," Ali said. "Lived in Jersey all her life though, so she wasn't born in Italy. She's got an Italian accent though." It was dreamy. Ali wished she had an accent. "Don't know if she's ever been to Italy though."

"She lives in Reseda now though, right?" her mother asked, frowning a bit.

Ali frowned herself. "Yeah, so?"

"It's nothing, Ali," her father quickly interceded. "Just confirming things you told us."

She watched them suspiciously but shrugged it off. It didn't seem like it was too important, so she decided to forget about it.

* * *

Arthur and Quinn Mills weren't judgmental. Really. Or they try not to be. And they worry a lot, especially when it came to their daughter.

All in all, though they were on her side when it came to the whole Johnny situation, they just didn't know this Danielle LaRusso.

She was foreign apparently, even if she was born and had lived in the United States all her life. She was still a touch European, and the two of them have no idea if that would mean she'd have some quirks.

She also lived in Reseda and everyone knows that was more in the poorer parts of Los Angeles. They were wealthy and weren't used to mingling with those that…wasn't. It sounded harsher than it really was. Really, it did!

"Art, I'm being reasonable, right?' Quinn muttered to her husband as they waited at home, while their daughter had gone to pick up Danielle.

"You are," he reassured her. "We're just being cautious. Nothing wrong with that."

And they were just being cautious. It had nothing to do with being judgmental. That's why, when they heard Ali chattering excitedly through the front door, they gave a look to each other and stood up to greet Ali's new friend. They could be polite. They'd give Danielle a chance –

"Oh," Arthur heard his wife say softly.

He felt like his mouth was too dry to utter anything. He was probably dehydrated or something…

Ali's pictures before really didn't do Danielle justice though. Without the beanie and being up close and personal, Danielle was even prettier than he'd thought.

Not that he thought she was pretty! Well he did, but it was just on a _factual_ note.

"Mom! Dad!" he heard Ali happily greet them. "This is Danielle. Danielle, these are my mom and dad."

"Nice to meet you," Danielle greeted exuberantly, coming over and kissing both of his cheeks.

Yes, right, _European_. He quite liked this quirk.

Arthur gave an awkward smile to her. "N-nice to meet you as well."

He glanced at his wife, who looked at him and at Danielle. But she looked awkward as well, so he had no idea what was running through her head.

"So is it okay that Danielle and I hang around here? We'll probably be hanging out a lot here, if you guys don't mind," Ali prodded them.

"Ah, yes," Quinn said after a pause. "Of course! Have fun, you two. Danielle, feel welcome here and make yourself at home."

Danielle blinked before a wide grin spread across her face. She broke out in scattered Italian and English, expressing her gratitude and whatever else she was saying.

Honestly, Arthur was too busy turning into a pile of goo apparently.

* * *

Ali was beyond ecstatic. Having asked her, Danielle had been hanging around Ali's home a lot for the past week. She was having so much fun and was getting along so well with the brunette, that she didn't care how weird her parents were being.

Whenever Danielle was around, they'd turn all awkward and stuff. It was weird, but she knew they'd already been hesitant about Danielle because she was Italian and kind of poor. She just wished they weren't so obvious about how they felt about Danielle.

Right now was lunch though, and Danielle had offered to cook something. Ali was in bliss. She couldn't wait to tease and taunt Johnny about this.

"Are you cooking, Danielle?" her mother entered the kitchen with her father, and Ali looked at them cautiously, hoping they wouldn't make a scene.

Quinn turned flustered. "Y-you really don't have to! Oh Ali, she's a guest. Don't make her cook!"

Ali gave her a strange look.

"It's alright, Mrs. Mills," Danielle said. "I offered to cook for us. Are you hungry? I could make enough for all of us."

Then Ali saw both of her parents become all flustered.

"You're not our w-wife, Danielle," Arthur blurted out. "You don't have to take care of us. And you can call us just Arthur and Quinn, you know!"

Wife? Why in the hell did her dad choose that analogy?

Danielle blinked slowly, tilting her head. She smiled hesitantly. "It's okay, really."

"Though she would make a good wife," her mother tacked on absentmindedly.

Ali nearly choked on her soda, watching her parents with wide eyes. Were they flirting with her friend?

"Are you flirting with Danielle?!" she tried not to screech.

Her father sputtered. "What? No! Of course not!"

But then her mother's muttered "Were we?" to him kind of ruined that.

Oh my God, this was so embarrassing. She couldn't believe they were flirting with her friend, even if they hadn't meant to. No wonder they'd been acting weird all this time!

But Danielle only laughed (was that a good or bad thing?) and shook her head.

"It's cool, Ali. I don't mind. I think it's actually kind of sweet. Plus, it's flattering from such a good-looking couple," Danielle winked at them, both of whom blushed a bit.

Ali gaped before becoming exasperated and hitting Danielle's arm. "Don't encourage them!"

But as it was, what Danielle said seemed to have perked them up and given Ali's parents confidence and even incentive to keep doing so (consciously now), more so when Danielle playfully reciprocated their flirting.

It was still really really strange, but Ali kind of got used to it as it gradually just became a thing with them.

* * *

"Ali?" Arthur poked his head into her room. "Are you busy?"

"Nope," she answered, still painting her nails.

"Um, have you talked with Danielle today?" which made Ali giggle.

She glanced slyly at him and Arthur nearly backtracked out of his daughter's room.

"Why? Want to talk to her? Ask her out to dinner?" she teased and Arthur felt his face heat up.

"Ali!" she laughed at him and he just scowled. "I was just asking because there's that social party coming up soon and I was wondering if you'd invite her to it."

"Oh, that," Ali gave him a surprised look. "I didn't think about that or inviting her. It's not really her social circle and I know how you and Mom are about those things."

Arthur coughed and shifted a bit. "Well…Danielle can come. Your Mother and I would like her to come," he said a little more firmly at the end.

Ali smirked at him, making him uncomfortable. "Invite her then."

"What?" he stared at his daughter.

"In. Vite. Her," she drew out and grabbed her phone, throwing it at him. "Here's her number."

He fumbled to catch it and stared at his daughter again, this time like a deer in headlights.

"Well?" she raised an eyebrow at him.

He cleared his throat and glared at her. "Fine."

But he left there, intending to call away from his daughter. She'd just make fun of him again if he'd stayed.

Looking up Danielle's number, he remembered his own phone was left on the kitchen island, and he went there to find his wife humming as she fixed a bouquet.

"How'd it go?" Quinn asked him. "Did Ali ask?"

Arthur huffed. "Our daughter's being difficult as always," he grumbled, grabbing his phone and typing in Danielle's number quickly. He bit his lip but ended up saving it. After pressing call, he waved it at his wife. "She's making me ask her."

Quinn snorted. "Of course she is. Ali can be so trying."

Arthur couldn't answer then, seeing as he heard Danielle pick up.

"Hello?"

He took a deep breath before looking at Quinn, who gave him an encouraging look.

"Uh, Danielle. This is Arthur? We were wondering if you were free this weekend. There's a party coming up and…"

Well, maybe it wasn't so bad inviting her himself.

Started 3/26/18 – Completed 3/30/18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was extremely entertaining for me to write. The next chapter will be even more so XD You know…Risa and Travis versus Arthur and Quinn after all. Lol. Hope you guys enjoyed this and please remember to review~


	9. Green Fire Burns Hot

Travis and Risa had arrived early to the party, dragging their unwilling son with them. While not always enthused with attending these kinds of social gatherings, Travis and Risa had always made sure to attend and not look like snobs. Goodness knows what their absence would look like to others or what rumors would be spread (worse is if people just started saying things about them behind their backs and those were spread).

"Do I have to be here?" Johnny whined.

"Yes," Travis answered without looking at his son.

"This is stupid," Johnny started muttering. "It's boring and I'd rather hang with the others."

"Lucky for you that your friends and their parents will be here as well," Risa said wryly.

"DLo won't," Johnny grumbled.

"DLo?" Risa asked, not familiar with the nickname. "Who's that –"

"Wait a second, she _is_ here!" Johnny straightened up with a grin. Then he made a face. "What's she doing with _Ali_?"

Both Travis and Risa looked over to where their son was looking at and realized that A) DLo apparently had to have meant Danielle, and B) Danielle was there at the party and looked very pretty in her peach-colored skater dress.

They hadn't known she was coming. They didn't think she'd want to come to those type of parties, or that it was necessarily her social crowd and that she wouldn't or want to fit in. In hindsight, they felt very stupid and disappointed that they hadn't tried to invite her to it themselves, even if they thought she'd decline. But…this wasn't –

"This ain't her crowd," Johnny said in confusion. "What would she be doing here anyway? It's a boring rich people only party."

While crudely said, their son was right. This was a well-to-do community and everyone attending were well off and more likely than not owned a successful business or two. Why was Danielle there?

"Oh! Travis, Risa!" Arthur and Quinn spotted them and came over, Ali and Danielle automatically following them.

The four of them exchanged greetings before Travis locked eyes with Danielle and was met with a lovely smile.

Ah, damn it.

He tried not to freeze up, forcing his own lips to smile back. Honestly, he wanted to hide behind Risa right then.

"Nice seeing you again, Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence," she told them.

"It's our pleasure!" Risa said, which he was grateful for since he didn't think he could speak right then.

"Whatcha doing here, DLo?" Johnny cut in, grinning in a laid-back manner.

"Arthur and Quinn invited me," she said easily, grinning back before turning that grin on Ali's parents.

Arthur? Quinn?

Travis really did freeze up then, turning his gaze on Arthur and Quinn, who looked very pleased with themselves. He could feel Risa stiffening up beside him.

"Well, we really would have liked to have had you here with us," Quinn said happily.

Ali snickered, glancing at her father. "Oh yeah. I can't tell you, Danielle, just how _eager_ and _happy_ Dad was to personally invite you."

Arthur's face turned red. "Ali!"

Travis felt his jaw beginning to drop. What on earth…?

Danielle laughed. "Oh geez, Arthur!" She _winked_ at him. "If you wanted it to be really personal, you could've come over to my place and knocked on my door."

Wait, what?!

Arthur coughed, even as his wife and daughter laughed at him. "Yes, well…" He actually began to smirk. "I like to play it cool and be a little hard to get myself. Don't want to be _too_ eager."

Was he…was he _flirting_ with Danielle?!

"Ew," Ali huffed. "Geez, still weird that my parents flirt with you, Danielle. If you ever start feeling weirded out, like you're supposed to, just tell me and I'll put those perverts straight."

Danielle was laughing again, even as Arthur and Quinn sputtered and glared at their daughter.

"You're so grounded, missy," Quinn scowled at her daughter, while Ali just gave her a thumbs up.

What the hell? They really were flirting with Danielle? Travis was having a hard time comprehending that. He felt a scowl itch at his lips and he tried not to show just how unhappy he was feeling right then.

"Danielle hangs around so much, and it's like they're trying to make her a sister-wife or something," Ali continued to tease her parents. "Quit hogging her! She's supposed to be there to hang out with me," Ali grinned in amusement.

"You're so not getting out of the house until you're 30."

"Haha, you guys are so lucky I managed to snag Danielle and become friends with her! Plus, the whole pestering her to come over all the time –how else are you two going to suffer with your cute crushes? And you're lucky I did, because you wouldn't have met her if I hadn't," she kept up with her merciless teasing.

"I don't know. Maybe I'm the lucky one," Danielle interjected. She winked again at Arthur and Quinn. "Two good-looking people interested in me? Wow."

Travis was _not_ jealous. He really wasn't.

(Goddammit, what the hell had happened and how did those two get so close to Danielle? Close enough to be flirting with her! Not fair!)

Travis made his expression blank, relieved when Ali dragged Danielle off to get some snacks to bring back with them. Johnny was about to follow when he saw his wife's hand shoot out and grab their son's collar.

"Johnny dearest, I thought you were closer to Danielle now?" Risa asked, tone deceivingly calm.

Johnny blinked at them. "Yeah. I am."

"Then maybe you should invite her over more," Travis said tersely, feeling irritable now for some reason.

"And become closer friends with her," Risa tacked on, smiling (and yet it felt menacing; his wife could be so scary).

"Er…okay?"

"Now you two, don't be so hard on him," Arthur said with a laugh. "He and Danielle got off to a bad start after all! At least now the two of them have finally become friends and are getting along great, right Johnny?"

"Yeah," Johnny said slowly. "DLo has been hanging around us a lot and just last week we went to an arcade." He made a face then. "Some older college jerks were hitting on her though."

Well, that made the four adults suddenly scowl in unison.

Danielle and Ali rejoined them then, but so had Johnny's friends and their parents. Travis didn't turn to them, still busy eying Arthur and Quinn, who had noticed the firm attention of him and Risa (who also hadn't greeted the others, too busy outright glaring at the other two).

"Problem, Risa?" Quinn said 'sweetly'.

"Not at all," Risa said a bit haughtily. "I'm not too old to know better, is all."

Quinn's nostrils flared in anger and Travis kind of felt that was a low blow himself. It's not like he and Risa were that younger than Quinn and Arthur.

"You guys are ridiculous though," Travis shrugged, faking nonchalance.

Just because he thought it was a low blow didn't mean he didn't approve of it and that he wouldn't support his wife.

And he was so not going to lose out to them over Danielle.

* * *

"What's going on?" Bobby asked and Ali tried to stifle her snort.

"I think my parents are fighting with Ali's parents over Danielle," Johnny said with a grimace.

Danielle choked on her drink, the Shirley Temple going down the wrong throat.

Dutch burst out laughing. "No shit, really?"

"Language," his dad reprimanded, looking confused. He glanced at his son and then glanced at the girl in question. He smirked and stepped closer to her, running a hand through his slicked back hair.

"Hello, you must be Danielle," he said smoothly. Well, she _was_ pretty and he couldn't have Arthur, Quinn, Risa and Travis have all the fun.

Dutch eyed his dad weirdly. No way –not his dad too!

Th rest of the boys in the group glanced at them, ignoring Ali who had taken a step away from the group and was doing her best to control her laughter.

"Hi, I'm Lukas Kirkland. I hear you and Frederick have become good friends," he smiled winsomely at her.

"Frederick?"

"Dad!" Dutch turned red in the face. "It's _Dutch_!"

His father didn't even blink, still smiling at Danielle who had smiled hesitantly back at him.

"I'm Danielle LaRusso," she introduced herself. "Your son likes to call me DLo. Please to meet you, sir."

"None of that!" he waved her off. "If you call Arthur and Quinn by their names, call me Lukas! Alright, Danielle?"

"Ah…okay?"

All of a sudden, Bobby's dad cut in. "Same here, Danielle. I'm Bobby's dad," he smiled widely at her as well. "Call me Heath," he said as he pushed his glasses up.

"I'm so glad Grans isn't here," Tommy muttered under his breath, watching incredulously at the others.

"I'm glad my sister isn't here," Jimmy grimaced.

"I don't know if I should bail her out or not," Ali held back a snort. "I don't know if I even _can_."

Bobby exasperatedly tugged his father away, but Heath just distractedly pushed his hands away as he started to question Danielle about her life before moving there, with Lukas interjecting and trying to cut in every way he can.

"This is so embarrassing!" Dutch complained.

Johnny made a face. "You have no idea. I can't believe that's what my parents have been doing all this time! No wonder they've been acting all weird and stuff when she's around."

"Hey, you just figured it out now," Ali pointed out. "I've been suffering this since I introduced her to my parents –like a week later I figured out that they were flirting with her and that's why they were being like that."

"Yeah, well, why would I have figured it out earlier?" Johnny muttered. "Who thinks their parents are flirting with their friend? That's freaking _weird_."

"She's got that 'help me, guys!' look on her face," Jimmy pointed.

"I think Dutch and Bobby already have a handful trying to calm their dads down," Ali shrugged. "I don't think we'd be much use."

"Ah well," Tommy shrugged. "DLo would make a great wife."

He got strange looks at that, but no one refuted his statement.

* * *

"Oh my _God_ , Mr. Miyagi! It was really crazy earlier. You know how I was invited to that super uppity socialite party that I told you about?" Danielle asked while she clipped at the bonsai tree.

"Hai, Danielle-san. I remember," Mr. Miyagi said in amusement.

"Yeah, well, I told you about Arthur and Quinn, right? Apparently, Travis and Risa –Johnny's parents and who insisted I call them by their first names too –well, they've been 'flirting' with me too, and they were sort of fighting each other over me earlier. And then, while they were distracted with that, I met Bobby and Dutch's dads and who sort of started flirting with me too. I told you, crazy right?"

"Do you want Miyagi-san to grab katana? Miyagi-san can make sure they will not bother Danielle-san anymore," Mr. Miyagi offered jokingly. That made Danielle laugh.

"Nah, it's okay, Mr. Miyagi. I don't actually really mind," Danielle smiled to herself, shaking her head. "It's kind of nice and sweet in a strange way."

"Very well. Just tell Miyagi-san when Danielle-san needs help. Miyagi-san very good with karate and always keeps katana sharp," he told her.

She giggled at that, though her interest had been piqued.

"Hey, Mr. Miyagi? How long have you been practicing karate for?"

Started 5/9/18 – Completed 5/12/18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, this would have been done way sooner, except real life has a way of ruining plans, huh? Hope you guys were as amused at reading this as I was writing it XD Please remember to review! I really appreciate being able to hear back from everyone.
> 
> Quick Points:
> 
> 1\. First Arc: Actually almost done. Then we'll be picking up on the next arc, which is the main bulk of the first movie.
> 
> 2\. Cobra Kai TV series: Anyone see it yet? I actually really like it and enjoyed it! Can't wait until the second season. Speaking of it though…
> 
> 3\. Travis and Risa: Are definitely not canon XD Johnny's mom is actually named Laura (I think I remember), he has a rich stepdad, so Johnny's background in my head is totally different than the new canon. Oops?
> 
> 3\. The Parents: That said, I'm just curious as to which actor/actress you guys see of our cast of parents/adults? Usually, I come up with cast, but I'm feeling lazy and I am rather curious to everyone's opinions…


	10. Ready to Get It On

"I told my parents you offered cooking lessons," Johnny told Danielle with an eyeroll, the next day after the whole 'rich people' party. Jimmy and Dutch started sniggering, while Bobby gave a slight smile. "They were weird. Happy but weird."

Danielle laughed. "Tell them to let me know. I can come over and start out with something simple."

Johnny scoffed, shaking his head. "They told me to give you their _number_. You can contact them whenever."

"My old man has been nagging at me since last night too," Dutch looked weirded out. "Says to invite you over and all."

"I'd love to come," she reassured him, though she was amused too.

"Same here," Bobby added in exasperation.

Before Danielle could reply, John came into the room and they all turned to him.

"Hey, Sensei!" she greeted enthusiastically.

"Danielle, boys," he greeted back before he headed to the front of the room. "Alright, guys! Listen up," he had them all gather near. "Pretty soon, we have an upcoming trip to Vegas to perform a demo at a martial arts assembly. I'll hand out the permission slips after class, so make sure you get them to your parents."

That made Danielle start fretting though. She didn't feel prepared for it at all! While the class moved into positions on the mat, she was inwardly spiraling into panic mode.

What if she messed up? What if she just didn't _do well_?

During the lesson, her mind was barely focusing. She went through the motions, but she wasn't really present and with everyone, too busy freaking out.

"Hey, DLo, what the hell's up?" Dutch nudged her as the lesson went. "You looked out of it the whole time."

"Sensei was talking about the demo," she said morosely. "I don't think I'll do well."

"Pfft!" Johnny laughed. "DLo, you practically beat my ass and that was _before_ you started training for real. You'll do fine."

Jimmy grinned. "Yeah, Johnny's still being called Johnny the Perv sometimes."

Danielle couldn't help bursting out laughing, staring at them. "He _what_?"

"Never mind that!" Johnny rushed to say, looking disgruntled. "Like I said, you shouldn't worry. You'll be fine."

"Yeah, you'll kick ass," Dutch added. "Show off too, I bet!"

Danielle playfully shoved him but was starting to smile again. She took a deep breath and nodded at them.

"And don't worry, I'll help you practice too," Bobby promised, which made her relax even more. The others added in their promises and Danielle wasn't panicking anymore.

And then the dojo's door opened and a tall man stepped inside, handsome as hell and wearing a business suit like he was born to.

"John! I thought I'd drop by!" the brunet grinned widely, putting an arm up and raising a hand in hello.

"Terry," their sensei sighed. "It's nice to have you drop by, but please tell me you're not running away from paperwork and your personal assistant."

'Terry' shrugged, walking further into the dojo and taking off his shoes before he stepped onto the mat. Then, suddenly, his eyes locked onto her and he was grinning again.

"You must be Danielle," he was crowing in delight, making Danielle's cheeks warm. He walked over to her and reached for one of her hands, kissing the back of it lightly. "I've heard so much about you."

She didn't know what she was more embarrassed by –the knowledge that Sensei talked about her to his friend, or said friend knowing her and being so familiar (and kissing her hand!).

* * *

Terry was fucking delighted. Not only was he finally meeting Danielle, but she was even cuter than her picture! And ooh, she was totally blushing right now, so point to him.

He'd been looking forward to meeting her since John mentioned her (more so after seeing what she looked like). John hadn't invited him over, so he took it upon himself to drop by and meet her, and since he _was_ avoiding paperwork and his personal assistant too, this was the perfect opportunity.

"John's told me about you," he said, "so I just had to drop by and meet you. You're even prettier than your picture!"

That, entertainingly enough, had her sputtering and cutely blushing even more. He inwardly grinned, completely thrilled. This was fun and she was enchanting.

Plus, the boys around her looked amusingly indignant while even John (funnily enough) looked irritated. Oh well! It was his fault for not inviting and bringing Terry over sooner.

Terry was going to milk this for all he was worth and get to know Danielle at the same time.

Grinning outwardly now, he bowed towards Danielle. "Would you spar with me?"

Continued to be amused at her flabbergasted facial expression, he gestured to the mat they stood on, and she quickly gathered herself to grin back and agree.

"Sure, uh, Mr. Terry!" she bowed back.

"Just Terry," he told her and got into a stance. "Now, come on, pretty lady! Let's dance."

Her cheeks flushed red again, pleasing him, and he went on the offensive to test out her reflexes. Not bad, not bad –she was doing well and he was enjoying himself.

She lashed out and landed a hit to his arm, and he hid his wince. Oh yeah, John was right. This girl knew how to _punch_.

"You sure you want to do this? You're not gonna ruin your suit up?" she was suddenly smirking at him.

He blinked before smirking back. "Suit'll be fine. You should be worrying about your dainty self, little lady."

She scoffed and floored him, surprising him as she tripped him up and put him into an arm bar submission hold. Caught off guard, he did appreciate the skillful move (and shamefully vaguely noted his arm between her legs before mentally hitting himself upside the head and lecturing him to 'stay in the game'). Wincing at the move and his restrained arm, he took a deep breath and then pushed off the mat, reversing the hold and pinning her to the ground.

"Yield!"

She grimaced and nodded, and in a good mood, he stood up first and held out a hand to help her up. She grabbed it and stood up next to him, and they bowed to each other to end the spontaneous 'match'.

"Well done," he complimented her, eying her friends, who were continuing to give him the stink eye. He flashed a smirk at them before focusing back on Danielle. "You just started, right? You're pretty good. You'll be at the top of the game in no time, Dany. Can I call you Dany?"

She blinked, her cheeks back to blushing. "Oh, um, okay. Thanks, Mr. –Terry. Thanks, Terry." She was getting flustered again.

He opened his mouth to say something else but was interrupted by John coming over and pinching his ear, dragging him off.

"Stop with the shameless flirting, you asshole," John muttered.

Terry inwardly pouted. Ruin all his fun, why don't he.

* * *

Danielle easily shot off a quick text to Travis and Risa, letting them know that she was available for when they wanted some cooking lessons. Then she entered Mr. Miyagi's home, admiring the traditional Japanese layout and amazed at the backyard's beautiful garden.

"Mr. Miyagi? I'm here!"

"Over here, Danielle-san!" she heard him and she followed his voice over to where he was, seeing him tending to some bonsai plants. "Before you start, we must calm minds. Here, sit with me and trim bonsai trees."

She came over to him, seeing him sitting in what he'd told her was a 'seiza' position, and sat next to him cross-leggedly. She accepted the trimmers and focused on her own bonsai tree, and for some time, they peacefully trimmed bonsai trees.

When he got up, he retrieved a paint brush and a can of paint. She raised an eyebrow, but he simply smiled at her. That was how she found herself starting to paint the long surrounding fence around his property. Confused but mentally shrugging, Danielle went along with it. Might as well help him out!

So she spent the rest of the daylight working on Mr. Miyagi's fence, humming to herself as she worked.

Afterwards, satisfied and pleased with her work, she cleaned up and bid Mr. Miyagi goodbye, who added a "Come back tomorrow and you'll continue training," he said, a kind smile on his lips. He did, amusingly enough, turned mischievous. "Soon you'll see."

"I'll see, huh?" she laughed, eying him curiously. "I shall not question the wisdom of wise old men," she teased and then bid him a final goodbye before leaving. Just as she left though, she saw a text from Travis asking if she was free that night and she said she was. Invited over then, she remembered her mom was working late and sent her a quick text about her plans and then got on her bike to head over to Johnny's house.

Once there, she parked her bike by the side of the house and had gone up to the front door, ready to knock, only for it to open as soon as she raised her fist.

"You're here!" Risa beamed at her, blond hair flouncing around her face. "Come in, come in!"

Danielle smiled widely and greeted her as she was used to with people, kissing both cheeks. "Hi, Risa! Thanks for inviting me over."

"It's no problem. Thank _you_ for coming over," she replied just as Travis found them.

"Danielle! Welcome! Johnny's just sorting out his room; he'll be down in a bit. In the meantime, please follow us into the kitchen!"

"So what're you guys looking to cook?" Danielle asked since the whole thing was rather impromptu. "If I'd known, I would've suggested we try something simple like spaghetti or even fettucine and would've brought over ingredients and stuff."

"Not to worry," Risa waved her off. "We have plenty of ingredients and we bought some kitchen appliances. You can look them over and see what we can do."

"Okay, that works," Danielle said as she was led to the large, state of the art refrigerator and freezer. She poked around it, though by then Johnny had made his way into the kitchen.

"Hey, DLo," Johnny greeted. "So my parents dragged you over here, huh?"

"We did not!" Travis said indignantly.

Danielle giggled. "No, Johnny, they kindly invited me over for their first cooking lesson. I'm deciding between a 10-minute lemon garlic salmon and asparagus or a one-pot beef with broccoli."

"I vote the salmon," Johnny immediately said. "Without, you know, the asparagus. Or the beef without the broccoli."

Danielle raised an eyebrow at him. "Don't like veggies?"

Travis rolled his eyes. "Avoids them like the plague."

Risa gave an admonishing look to her son. "Honestly, it'll help you stay healthy!"

Johnny just shivered in disgust.

"Any preferences?" she asked Risa and Travis.

"I like seafood," Travis admitted while Risa said that salmon was one of her favorites.

"Salmon it is!" Danielle declared. "And you can avoid the greens easier," she tossed a look at Johnny, who just shrugged and grinned back at her.

She started getting the ingredients out, while instructing Risa to find the cutting board and Travis a pot. Johnny just sat at the island counter, watching them.

"Hey, so earlier, you really don't mind Sensei's friend calling you Dany?" Johnny asked casually, though it did catch Risa and Travis' attention.

She was caught off guard though, remembering Terry. "No, it's fine," she confirmed. "I kind of like it too."

Johnny frowned, though he knew his parents were listening in closely, even though they were paying attention to Danielle and her instructions.

"Some of us were talking about it and we kind of like it too," he reluctantly admitted. "Dutch is stubbornly sticking with DLo though, and Jimmy maybe. I'd probably switch between the two. Do you mind the rest of us calling you Dany too?"

"Not at all," Danielle said. "It's fine."

"Oh, but that's so cute!" Risa ended up interjecting eagerly. "I like it! May we call you that too?" she asked, gesturing between herself and her husband.

Danielle was surprised but nodded. "If you two would like to!"

There was a glint in his father's eye that Johnny knew Danielle had missed.

"Fantastic," Travis said smugly. "I'm sure the others would be keen to know that."

While that left Danielle blinking, Johnny mentally face palmed at his parents.

Of course, that also meant he was going to be hearing from Ali, who would no doubt be ranting about her parents after they had heard from Johnny's own parents.

Started 5/10/20 – Completed 5/11/20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah hell, it's been a really long time, eh? Whoops. I know I have a few more chapters to go for this arc and then it goes into the main stuff, so yay! That said, you guys enjoy Terry finally meeting Danielle? Lol, that and plus the continuous rivalry of the parents XD That's way too fun for me XD Remember to leave some feedback please! I always enjoy reading them (and rereading them!)~
> 
> Quick Points:
> 
> 1\. Danielle's 'Harem': Bwahaha! Maybe it's because I'm so used to writing reverse harems? Lololol, but it is funny and Danielle has her hands full with these people. Y'all continue to enjoy the chaos.
> 
> 2\. Cobra Kai show: If I ever get into that realm continuing with this fic, it'll probably be way different, considering the changes made. One being Johnny and Danielle aren't enemies/bitter rivals, Kreese isn't heading down the same path, and Johnny's got different parents (then again, I was thinking of the show).


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